DEIVATHIN KURAL # 167 (Vol # 6) Dated 06 May 2013

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 167 (Vol # 6) Dated 06 May 2013

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by PeriyavaaL of Kanchi Kaamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are going ahead from page No 1153 of Volume 6 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that herein ‘man/he’ includes ‘woman/she’ too mostly. These e-mails are all available at   http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)

முக்கண்-முக்குண முக்கியம்

Three Eyes-Three GuNas Importance

870.                As the poet comes down in order from the crown, hair on the head, the line formed between the central parting of hair known as Vakidu, the small tendrils of hair at the edge of the hair growth known as 'munnuchi mayir', then 'lalãtam' or forehead, eye-brows and so on; next the poet arrives at the description of the eyes.  For all of us, eyes are very important.  In Tamil we endearingly address our beloved as 'kaNNe' – 'கண்ணே' or as 'kanmaNiye' – 'கண்மணியே'!   This second word of endearment is common in all languages, as almost universally it is acceptable to address one's sweet-heart as, "My Darling!"  But we do not call them as, 'My ears or nose or teeth or tongue or anything else'!  For AmbãL who is well known for graceful glances of kindness and compassion, has many names as related to the eyes such as, Kãmãkshi, Meenãkshi, Visãlãkshi, Neelãyadãkshi, Anjanãkshi; and in Tamil as 'வடுவகிர் கண்ணம்மை', 'வேற்கண்ணியம்மை', 'வேனெடுங்கண்ணியம்மை' and such others!

871.                In the last sloka itself (the 47th) in passing it has been mentioned that the darlings of her eyes are like black beetles.  Still, in that sloka the importance is for the eye-brows only.  There was no mention of the third eye in that sloka.  Here in the 48th sloka there is description of all the three eyes. 

अह: सूते सव्यं तव नयनं अर्कात्मकतया

aha: soote savyam tava nayanam arkãtmakatayã

त्रियामां वामं ते सृजति रजनी नायकतया |

Thriyãmãm vãmam te srujati rajani nãyakatayã |

तृतीया ते धृष्टि: दर दलित हेमांबुजरुचि:

Thruteeyã te dhrushti: dhara dalita hemãmbhujaruchi:

समाधत्ते सन्ध्यां दिवसनिशयोरन्तरचरीम् ||

samãdatte sandhyãm divasanisayorantarachareem ||

872.                AmbãL's right and left eyes are like 'Neelotpala' flowers with the black darlings shining like black beetles.  In the centre between the two eyes is the 'lalãta netram' that is red like melted gold.  That is 'agni netram' – 'the fire-eye' – as we have heard about Easwara before, that the very opening of the eyes sends out sparks!  Though the black darlings are flitting about in the other two eyes, it is those right and left eyes which are of the form of the Sun and Moon.  In Purusha Suktam the allegory is different in that, from the Primordial Parama Ãtma's mind is the Moon born, Sun from the eyes, Indra and Agni from the mouth and Air from his breath - ---'प्राणात् वायुर अजायत'!  In all other Sãstrãs it is said that from the Parama Ãtma's right eye the Sun, left eye the Moon and from the third eye in the Lalãtam Agni are born.

873.                When the Sun is there, it is day time.  That is what is mentioned in the first line when the poet says, 'तव सव्यं नयनं' (This word 'savyam' that we came across in the previous sloka has been used for 'right'), meaning 'your right eye', by having the nature of the Sun, (अर्कः – Sun; आत्मकतया – by having his nature; अह: - day time; सूते – creates.  Day time is 'ahar nisam' and 'the whole of day and night' is mentioned as 'ahorãtram'.  So the first line means that, 'your right eye being of the nature of the Sun creates the day-time'!  In the second line with ते वामं we have to add नयनं, meaning 'the left eye of yours', रजनी नायकतया – by being the hero of night time, the moon, त्रियामां सृजति creates the night time.  A day lasts for 24 hours and that is divided in to eight 'Yãmam' of three hours each.  Leaving the time for day, twilight hours of 'Ushã and Sandhya', the night is supposed to last for nine hours of 'three Yãmam' that is त्रियामं. 

874.                Your third eye – 'तृतीया ते धृष्टि:' – other than your, right and left eyes the third eye in between the eye brows, is like a flower that is just about to bloom, opening out ever so slightly – 'दर दलित' as though just about to open its mouth – and what else?  It is having – 'हेमांबुजरुचि:' – like a golden lotus, the colour of a flame!  In Madurai Meenãkshi temple there is this pond famously known as 'hema-pushkaraNi' – 'हेम पुष्करणि' or 'பொற்றாமரைக்குளம்'.  Her third eye itself is of the colour of a piece of highly polished pure gold!  That the right and left create the day and night time respectively, many people have said.  Our ÃchãryãL has to say something over and above that, isn't it?  Others did not say anything about the third eye, which our ÃchãryãL has included as being responsible for the in-between periods of mornings and evenings.  That reddish eye of the forehead, is responsible for the periods that fall in between the days and nights and again between the nights and days – 'दिवस निशयोः' – 'अन्तर चरीम्'; which is either 'prãta: sandhya or sãyam sandhya' included as  सन्ध्यां: beautifully creates – 'समाधत्ते'!

875.                Normally the word 'दिवस्' means the day time.  But generally leaving the night time, the words meant for the day-light-periods such as 'day', 'दिन्', 'दिवस्' and 'நாள்'; have come to mean all of 24 hours. That is because all our transactions are during the working hours of the day-time.  In the night mostly we tend to sleep it off without knowing anything!  That is the reason for including the night time as just part of the day or 'தினம்' or 'நாள்' or 'दिवस् or दिवसं'! One day in the year meant for remembering our kith and kin, who have passed away and are no more, is also known as 'दिवसं' only.  Having mentioned day and night, how can we afford to ignore the morning / evening times?  HiraNyakasipu got a boon that he should not be killed in the day or night time and he was sorted out making intelligent use of the in-between 'sandhya' period.  Thus the 'sandhya' period comes twice in 24 hours, once before the day and again before the night, isn't it?

876.                In fact, these periods known as 'prãthas sandhya' and 'sãyam sandhya' are the quite periods within those 24 hours when we are naturally enabled to think of such things as meditation, dispassion self-analysis, and matters of deep philosophical import, which we tend to ignore at other times, isn't it?  That is why doing one's prayers at that time known as 'sandhya vandanam' has been like a back-bone of our religious practices.  If the right and left eyes were to beget the day and night times, it is in order that the third eye in the centre should be creating the in-between periods of 'prãtah / sãyam sandhyas'!  So also, as the third eye is red and golden, the morning and evening times are well known for the skies to be coated with all the shades of yellow, orange and red colours!  Thus the poet has proved that AmbãL is a personification of the element of the Time as a factor / denomination – that is, 'काल स्वरूपिणि', through a description of her eyes only!

878.                Not only that AmbãL's eyes are creating the cyclic changes of day and night with the morning and evening times in between, they are also responsible for the coming into being of the holy trinity of Tri-Murthys who do the jobs of Srushti, Stiti and Samhãra as the poet says in the 53rd sloka.  There without looking at them as three different eyes, he looks at the white part of the eyes, black part of the darlings and the red coloured lines in the eyes and relates them to the Satva, Tamas and Rajo GuNas.  From them she creates the Rajomaya Brhma, Satva pradãna or predominant VishNu and Tamo Murthy Rudra; through whom she gets the three important jobs of Srushti, Stiti and Samhãra carried out; the poet says!

879.                Though here in the 53rd sloka there is talk of the act of destruction of Samhãra, just a little later in the 55th sloka it occurs to him if he should ever hold the universal mother to be responsible for such utter destruction as Pralaya / Samhãra?  So he says, if you close your eyes the worlds are destroyed and when you open your eyes there will be creation again.  Your Mother's heart can never accept the destruction of its children and so you are looking at them without ever letting your eyes close even for one wink!  It is a well-known fact that divine beings do not have to wink and those ethereal beings are not affected by the earth's gravitational pull and so their feet do not necessarily rest on the earth.  So as the story goes, when in the Swayamvar of Damayanthi, knowing that NaLa and Damayanthi are lovers well known to each other and that she would select him as her husband, all the celestial visitors were dressed exactly like NaLa and were also 'Look-alikes'!  But Damayanthi could recognize as to who is the real human NaLa from the fact that his eyes alone were winking and his legs were very much resting on the ground!  But here the poet beautifully appreciates the Mother's heart, when he says that she is not closing her eyes even for one wink so that her children may not be affected adversely!

880.                The poet makes yet another interpretation of the three colours of her eyes white, black and red as the basis of three GuNas, slightly differently in sloka No 54.  The Ganges is bluish green like any other river but is fairly white in that it is clean and full of air bubbles.  So this river is the white one from the fair Siva's hair locks.  The Yamuna known as KãLindi is dark with a clayish base and also possibly because it is deeper.  So, Yamuna is the Black river of Krishna, on whose banks all his childhood escapades are based!  With these two rivers, unseen by our eyes as an under-ground current the third river Saraswathi is said to join this Ganga and Yamuna at Prayãg known as 'TriveNi Sangamam'!  Instead of the Saraswathi the poet selects the 'Sone' river which is of the red hue and says that in her eyes, the white represents the Ganga, the black colour represents the Yamuna and red lines indicate the Sone river.  These rivers meet, making it the most sinless spot.  Let AmbãL's vision and sight make us also clean and sinless, chaste and immaculate – as our AcharyaL prays on our behalf of all of us – 'पवित्री कर्तुं न:' meaning, 'make us all clean and chaste'!

881.                (KTSV adds: - Prayag and Sangam are synonyms, both common names for all confluences of rivers.  The famous Prayag, held as most sacred for the followers of Hinduism, is located in Allahabad where all Hindus (are supposed to) visit and take a dip at least once in their life time, where the Rivers of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswathi are said to meet.   This Sone River is more to the east from there joining the Ganga near Patna.  PeriyavãL says that during his visit there, he had bathed in that river and brought out the red stone from that river as memento after a dip, which is kept in the Panchãyatana Pooja at homes representing Vigneshwara.)

(To be continued.)

Sambhomahadeva