parAsara bhattar aruLic seythadhu

The Slokam goes as under ~

bhUtam sarasya mahad-Ahvaya bhaTTa-nAtha

Sri-bhakti-sAra kula-SEkhara yOgi-vAhAnn

bhakt/Anghri-rENu parakAla yateendra-miSrAnn

Srimat-parAnkuSa-munim praNatO/smi nityam.

Meaning:
I bow every day to Bhoothatthazhvar, Poygai Azhvar, Peyazhvar, Periyazhvar,
Thirumazhisai Azhvar, Kulasekara Azhvar, Thiruppanazhvar, Thondaradippodi Azhvar,
Thirumangai Azhvar, Ramanuja, and Nammazhvar.

[Constantly do I salute (the AzhvAr saints) ~

***bhUta (the One who was. "bhoo sattAyAm", to be. The name is from the Sruti,
"asan-nEvE sa
bhavati", One "is" only with the realisation that "brahman" is.)

***sarasya, born near a pond (poyikai).

***mahad-Ahvaya, the Profound, after the Sruti, "tasya nAma mahad-yaSa:" The
Tamil name, pEyi,
signifies his mystic ecstasies which made him look wild.

***bhaTTa-nAtha, the brahmin periyAzhvAr-vishNuchitta.

***Sri bhakti-sAra, of the place tiru-mazhiSai, to the west of Chennai. mahee-

sAram (salt of the
earth) is the sanskrt name which speaks of the high adoration of this place. [The
same name given
to the well-known former principality of the State of karnataka has been
deliberately corrupted
into the (later-day) Mysore to fabricate and establish the silly 'sthala-purANam'
of bovine demon,
mahishAsura.]

***kula-SEkhara, born king. His daughter, SEra-kula-valli is enshrined in the

Srirangam Great
Temple, and a ceremonial bath 'tiru-manjanam' is offered for her on the Sri-rAma-
jayanti day when
she is seated together with Our Lord, nam-perumAL.

***yOgi-vAha, the minstrel tiru-p-pAN AzhvAr. This saint of so-called low birth
was brought, on
the Lord's directions, on the shoulders of the Temple priest, hence "yOgi-vAha".
This AzhvAr, and
gOdA-dEvi, are the ones with the extraordinary distinction of merging in the
sacred person of Lord
Sriranga-nAtha, periya-perumAL, of Srirangam. ***bhakt/Anghri-rENu, the one who
revered the
dusting off the feet of the devotees. His original name was vipra-nArAyaNa. His
distinction was
that he hymned solely the Lord of Srirangam. The Telugu language has a rich
collection of operas on
this AzhvAr, in the 'yaksha-gAnam' mode.

***para-kAla, or tiru-manGai-mannan, the small-time ruler in Chola empire, the

outstanding poet
and the model for the unsurpassed later-day poet Kamban of Rama-kathA fame.

***yateendra-miSra is, of course, Sri rAmAnuja, not classified as an AzhvAr. His

four-syllabled
name, rA-mA-nu-ja, is the most potent 'mantra' ensuring the spiritual career of
his devotees.

***Srimat-parAnkuSa-muni, SaTha-kOpa, nam-AzhvAr or, simply AzhvAr, who is the

embodiment
('avayavi') of the convocation of all the individual AzhvAr saints ('avayava').

~o~o~o~

This Slokam was imparted by Sri Paraasara-bhatta to his prime disciple, Sri nan-
jeeyar, as
unceasing 'japam' (repetition) text, something like the Christian telling of the
rosary. The great
Bhattar composed an exclusive Slokam in adoration of Sri Goda-devi, who is not
grouped with the
AzhvAr-s, as she is adored as Divinity herself, an incarnation of bhU-dEvi.

~o~o~o~

This Slokam compacting the names of the AzhvAr saints is best recited together
with the following
Slokam(s) from Srimad-bhAgavata-purANam (11th skandham, 5th adhyAyam, Sl.38)
prophesying the
appearance of the AzhvAr-s on this earth. The places of their birth are
indicated by the river-map
of the region.

kalau khalu bhavishyanti nArAyaNa-parAyaNA:

kvachit-kvachin-mahA-rAja, draviDEshu cha bhUriSa:

tAmra-parNee nadee yatra krta-mAlA payasvinee

kAvEree cha mahA-puNyA prateechee cha mahA-nadee

yE pibanti jalam tAsAm manujA manujEshvara

prAyO bhaktA bhagavati vAsu-dEvE amalA/SayA:

[It is in the kali age that the (precious) devotees of nArAyaNa will appear,

~ here and there, Oh king, but in great numbers in the draviDa region.

That will be along of the courses of the rivers

tAmra-parNee, krta-mAlA (= vaikai, in Tamil), payasvinee (=pAl-ARu, in Tamil),

the highly sacred kAvEree, the westward mahA-nadee (=periyARu, in Tamil).

And those who imbibe the waters of these currents, Oh lord of men,

they are the ones of pure heart devoted to bhagavAn vAsu-dEva.]

The elaboration of the AzhvAr river-map is available in Srimad-bhAgavata purANam

(5th skandham,
adhyAyam 19), in the prose section beginning with, "bhAratE asmin varshE sarit-
SailA: santi
bahavO... etc).

English meanings are at: http://www.acharya.org/vyakyanam/pthaniyan/index.html ]