Sincere Thanks To:
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1. SrI Srinivasan Narayanan for Sanskrit/ITrans texts and proof reading
2. Nedumtheru SrI Mukund Srinivasan, SrI Shreekrishna Akilesh,
www.desikan.com, www.exoticindiaart.com, SrI B Senthil Kumar and SrI
L Sridhar for the images.
3. Smt Jayashree Muralidharan for eBook assembly
CONTENTS
Introduction 1
Mantrams and Commentaries 13-21
Nigamanam 21
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Para vAsudevan with SrI, BhU and nILA devi
Thanks: Nedumteru SrI Mukund Srinivasan
. I>.
nIasUm!
nILA sUktam
INTRODUCTION
This sUktam is an ancient Veda bhAgam that prays for the anugraham of One
of the three devis of SrIman nArAyaNan. SrI devi, BhU devi and nILA devi are
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the three devis who stay on both the sides of the Lord in Paramapadam. On the
right side stays SrI Devi celebrated by SrI sUktam. On the left are BhU Devi
and nILA Devi eulogized by BhU and nILA sUktams respectively. Swamy
Desikan composed SrI stuti, BhU stuti and GodA stuti to celebrate these three
divine consorts of SrIman nArAyaNan.
SrI devi (Periya PirATTi) is the embodiment of the Lords dayA (compassion),
BhU devi is the personification of the Lords kshamA guNam (forbearance and
patience to forgive our trespasses) and nILA devi is the personification of the
Lords audArya guNam (koDai in Tamil or generosity). The three devis are
addressed by AzhvArs as Pon MakaL, nila MakaL and Ay MakaL. nILA devi is
the bride of KaNNan, who destroyed seven fierce bulls of Kumban, the brother
of YaSodA PirATTi in BrndAvanam; KaNNan won the hand of the beautiful
Yaadava kula maiden, nILA devi as kanyA sulkam during the KrshNAvatAram
through this valorous act.
nILA devi is also revered by AzhvArs and AcAryAs as Nappinnai in their
pAsurams and SrI sUktis. This Ayar pAvai with beautiful plaits (nal + pinnai) is
celebrated for Her perfect anga saundaryam that drove KaNNan into raptures.
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That is why She is addressed as Pula(n) Mangai, who succeeds in keeping the
Lord under Her control through
Her sensory bhogams. SrI devi and
BhU devi in this context are known
as Pon Mangai and nila Mangai.
Nappinnai is the amSam of nILA
devi and the referral to ghrtavatI
(abundance in ghee) and payasvatI
(abundance in milk) in nILA sUktam
connects Her to the avatAram as
Nappinnai in the Ayar Kulam that
rears cows and calves and produce
abundant milk and butter for
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Bhagavat ArAdhanam as well as
ghee for yAga/yaj~nams.
Here are some tributes by the
AzhvArs on nILA devi as one of
the three wives of the Lord. In
these pAsura vAkyams, the divine
saundaryam of NappiNai that
aayarpADi
intoxicated Lord KrshNa is celebrated:
AZHVAR PASURAM-S ON NILA DEVI
tiruvAimozhi pAsuram-s of NammAzhvAr:
, ,
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uDanamarkAtalmakaLir tirumakaLmaNmakaL Ayar
maDamakaL, enRivarmUvar aaLumulakamum mUnRE,
uDanavaiyokkavizhunki aalilaiccErndavanemmAn,
kaDalmalimAyapperumAn kaNNanenn okkalaiyAnE (Tiruvaimozhi 1.9.4)
Meaning:
Our Lord has three adoring consorts - Lakshmi, BhUmi and Nappinnai. He has
lordship over all the three worlds.
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! ;
! .
vaLavEzhulakin mutalAya
vAnOr iRaiyai aruvinaiyEn
'kaLavEzh veNNai toDuvuNDa
kaLvaa!' enpan; pinnaiyum
'taLavEzh muRuval pinnaikkAi
vallAn Ayar talaivanAi
iLavE REzhum tazhuviya
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entAi!' enpan ninaindunaindE (Tiruvaimozhi 1.5.1)
Meaning:
He killed the seven bulls to win the hand
of Nappinnai of sweet smile.
vampavizh kOtai poruTTA
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mAlviDai yEzhum aDartta,
cempavaLat tiraL vAyan
cirIdharan tolpugazh pADi,
---(Tiruvaimozhi 3.5.4 first 4 lines) KrshNA wins the hand of Nappinnai
Meaning:
To win the hand of Nappinnai as the bride, the Lord with beautifully red mouth
and lips mortified seven bulls.
?,
kaDalj~nlAlam ceytEnum yAnE' ennum
kaDalj~nAlam AvEnum yAnE' ennum,
kaDalj~nAlam koNDEnum yAnE' ennum
kaDalj~nAlam kINDEnum yAnE' ennum,
kaDalj~nAlam uNDEnum yAnE' ennum
kaDalj~nAlattu Isan vantERak kolO?,
kaDalj~nAlattIrk kivaiyen sollukEn
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kaDalj~nAlatten makaLkaR kinRanavE? (Tiruvaimozhi 5.6.11)
Meaning:
The Lord, is the consort of all the three Devis : SrI Devi, responsible for His
aiSwaryam, BhUmi PirAtti, the land for those aiSwaryams, and Nappinnai, the
tender creeper from the Kulam of cowherds .
ankum inkum vAnavar tAnavar yAvarum,
enkum inaiyai enRunnai aRiyakilaa talaRRi,
ankam cErum pUmakaL maNmakaL aaymakaL,
canku cakkarak kaiyavanenbar caraNamE. (Tiruvaimozhi 8.3.1)
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SrI bhUmi devi and nILA devi sameta SrI RanganAtha
Rangasthala, Karnataka (Thanks: SrI L Sridhar)
Meaning:
All sorts of beings (devAs, asurAs and humans) take refuge in the Lord, when
he is in joyous company of not only HIS consorts - which would have been
enough- but they (Lakshmi, BhUmi and Nappinnai) are progressively more
persuasive in their intercessions on behalf of the SaraNAgatAs.
Tirucchandaviruttam of Tirumazhisai AzhvAr
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AyanAki Ayarmankai vEyatOL virumpinAi,
Aya! (Tiruccandaviruttam 41 first line)
Meaning:
You incarnated as a cowherd (Ayan) to marry Nappinnai of Ayar Kulam.
TiruppAvai pAsuram-s of SrI ANDAL
nantakOpAlan marumakaLE nappinnAi (TiruppAvai 18-2)
Meaning:
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Oh Daughter in Law of Nandagopalan ! Nappinnai !
kuttu viLakkeriyak kOTTuk kAl kaTTil mEl
mettenRa panca cayanattin mEl ERi
kottalar pUnkuzhal nappinnai konkai mEl
vaittuk kiDanta malarmArpA vAi tiRavAi (TiruppAvai 19 first 4 lines)
Meaning:
Oh Lord KrshNa! Lying on the soft (silky) bed on the ivory cot with Your broad
chest resting on the large bosoms of Nappinnai, whose tresses are adorned with
bunches of flower blossoms (This Paasuram inspired Swamy ParAsara BhaTTar
to compose his famous taniyan : nILAtunga stana giri taTI suptam udbodhya
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krshNam).
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nILA tunga stana giri taTI suptam udbodhya krshNam!
Tirumangai AzhvAr pAsurams
murukkilanku kanittuvarvAip pinnai kELvan (Peria tirumozhi 6.6.8 1st line)
Meaning:
The Lord of Nappinnai with youthful and delectable lips.
annai munivatum anRi
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lin kura lIrvatum,
mannu maRikaDa lArppa
tumvaLai cOrvatum,
ponnan kalaiyalku lanna
mennaDaip pUnkuzhal,
pinnai maNALar tiRatta
vAyina pinnaiyE (Peria tirumozhi 11.2.5)
Meaning:
The Lord of Nappinnai with gentle gait and tresses adorned with fragrant
flowers.
NILA DEVI
In consonance with the SrI VaishNava tradition, ANDAL performs SaraNAgati
in TiruppAvai at the sacred feet of the Lord through His devi. This is known as
the PurushakAra Prapatti. Swamy ParASara BhaTTar through His famous
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taniyan for TiruppAvai reminds us of ANDAL awakening Nappinnai for
PurushakAra Prapatti. BhaTTar visualizes the Lord sleeping soundly in the
middle of the lofty breasts of Nappinnai. ANDAL reminds the Lord of His
duties to protect the world and sends the message through Nappinnai, who has
perfect vaallabhyam and vaSIkaraNam over Her Lord through Her bhogams.
In the context of discussion on the theological and ontological implications of
the doctrine of SrI devi (SrI tattvam), the questions that need addressing are:
Is She on par with VishNu enjoying equal status as a vibhu?
Are BhU devi, nILA devi and other Saktis listed in LakshmI tantram and
other PaancarAtra samhitA-s distinct from SrI devi and one another?
Are they all to be taken as consorts of VishNu?
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What are their ontological status with respect to VishNu and SrI devi?
VaikuNTha vAsi Dr. S.M.S. Chari addresses the above questions precisely:
tirukkuDantai SrI ArAvamuda perumAl in nAcciyAr tirukkOlam
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Through the expression of eka Seshitvam, VishNu and SrI devi exhibit
vibhutvam and are upAyam as well as upeyam for a prapannan
Purusha sUktam, BhU sUktam, Hari vamSam (an appendix of MahA
BhAratam) attest to the fact that both BhU devi and nILA devi are VishNu
patnI-s
From an ontological stand point, both BhU devi and nILA devi are regarded
as two aspects/amSams of VishNu Sakti, which according to PaancarAtra
samhitA-s is MahA Lakshmi Herself. BhU devi is the amSam of kshamA and
nILA devi is the amSam of audAryam of MahA Lakshmi. Both are worshipped
along with MahA Lakshmi without affecting the unitary character of MahA
Lakshmi as the inseparable consort of VishNu enjoying the same status as
Her Lord. Vishvaksena samhitA goes on to point out that BhU devi and nILA
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devi are not vibhus like MahA Lakshmi and yet both are dear to VishNu and
are His consorts. The acceptance of additional consorts for the Lord does
not mitigate the unitary character of the Supreme Mother, MahA Lakshmi.
SrI devi has a special place on the chest (VakshaH sthalam) of Her Lord as well
as on the right side of Her Lord. She has the svAbhimata nitya niravadya
anurUpa svarUpam saluted in AcArya RaamAnujAs SaraNAgati gadyam. She
has a beautiful form desired by the Lord, which is changeless and without any
blemish and matching Her Lord in every way regarding saundaryam, KalyANa
guNams and aiSvaryam. She is the One who is seated on the forever fragrant
lotus flower and destroys our pApams. She is the deva deva divya mahishi and is
the limit of dayA (dAkshiNya sImA). She is the yajamAni in the Lords house-
hold (grha medini).
BhUmi devi and nILA devi take their positions on the left side of the Lord.
BhUmi devi is like another embodiment (rUpAntaram) of SrI devi. She is the
object of unceasing reverence by all at SrI VAikuNTham (anavarata bahumAna
vishayai). She has the most beautiful green hue like the mountain at spring
time.
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nILA devi has the hue of a dark blue lotus (karu neydal pushpam). She is thus
neelotpala SyAmaLai. She exceeds the enchanting power of SrI devi, when it
comes to overpowering Her Lord through Her bhoga Sakti. The Lord, who is
forever awake (nitya bodan) gives up that ever vigilant state in nILA devis
company, relaxes and falls asleep amidst Her lofty breasts (nILA tunga
stanagiri taTI suptam). Such is Her power over Her Lord!
Now let us study the meanings/comments of the mantrams.
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13
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The Divine Couple
(Thanks: www.exoticindiaart.com)
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. I>.
nIasUm!
nILAsUktam
. hir> Aaem!.
nIa< devI zr[mh< p*e sutristrse nm>.
g&[aih.
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|| hari: om ||
nILAm devIm SaraNamaham prapadye sutarasi tarase nama: ||
grNAhi ||
Meaning:
aDiyEn seeks nILA devi as my refuge! Hail to Thee, whose vaibhavam is enjoyed
immensely by Her children!
"&tvtI sivtraixpyE> pySvtI riNtrazanae AStu,
uva idza< iv:[upTNy"aera=Syezana shsae ya mnaeta.
ghrtavatI savitarAdhipattyai:
payasvatI rantirASAno astu |
dhruvA diSAm vishNupatnyaghorA
asyeSAnA sahaso yA manotA ||
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Meaning:
Oh Lord who creates and rules this world and its beings! May all the directions
where I am, be filled with the abundance of ghee, milk and nourishing vastus
and also become pleasant places where the kith and kin as well as friends are
protected with (Your) power. May VishNu patni, BhUmi PiraTTi, who blesses
Her devotees with mental fortitude and forbearance, accept aDiyEns
ArAdhanam and bless every one in this direction with Her anugraha sankalpam!
b&hSpitmaRtiraet vayuSsNxuvana vata Ai nae g&[Ntu,
ivMae idvae x[> p&iwVya ASyezana jgtae iv:[upI.
brhaspatir mAtariSvota vAyu:
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sandhuvAnA vAtA abhi no grNantu |
vishTambho divo dharuNa: prthivyA
asyeSAnA jagato vishNupatnI ||
Meaning:
Brhaspati (the deva guru), the enduring samAna vAyu, the life sustaining Vaayu
known as mAtariSvA and other prANa vAyus wish us only hitam
(auspiciousness). BhUmi devi, who supports the svarga lokam and stays as the
foundation of the BhU lokam is the Lords dharma patni. She is also the
Empress of all the Universe.
Comments:
The mAtariSvAn is the messenger of Vivasvat, a Vedic God, who brought hidden
fire to the Bhrgus (Rg Vedam I.93.6). mAtariSvAn can be considered as a Vedic
god associated with domestic fire. The fire stick in which the fire grows is also
known as mAtariSvAn. In essence, mAtariSvAn is one of the vAyu-s (life
currents). It is some times equated with samAna vAyu, one of the panca (five)
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PrANAs. These PrANA-s govern critical bodily functions and control the bodily
energies through the control of the different cakrAs (mUlAdhAra,
svAdhishThAna, maNipUra, anAhata, viSuddha, Aj~nA and sahasrAram). The
Panca PrANA-s themselves are: PrANa, apAna, vyAna, udAna and, samAna
vAyus. They move in the PrANa maya koSam and are the primary life currents
or vital airs. PrANa is the outgoing breath, apAna is the incoming breath, vyAna
is the retained breath, udAna is the ascending breath and samAna is the
equalizing breath. Control of these breaths through PrANAyAma yogam for
better health and gaining of siddhis is a major field involving expert guidance.
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SrI bhUmi devi, nILA devi sameta SrI sthalasayana perumAL - tirukkaDalmallai
(Thanks: SrI B Senthil Kumar)
ivVyca #;yNtI suUit> izva nae ASTviditpSwe.
viSvavyacA ishayantI subhUti:
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SivA no astvaditirupasthe ||
Meaning:
Surrounding the universe are the invigorating (nourishing good food) victuals.
May these be auspicious for us and stand near us!
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Prosperity and subhiksham-s are received through performance of yaj~nas
SrI Ahobila Mutt, SelaiyUr
Comments:
In the spirit of the above mantra, one Yajur Veda Mantram deals with the
beauty of the universe (Earth) as a source of prosperity, and happiness, a fit
place to dwell upon comfortably, full of corn, milk, sweet juices and fruits. This
mantram also points out that such prosperity and subiksham is gained through
the performance of yaj~nams with the recitation of Vedic verses in many
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metres like GayatrI, trishTup and jagati. This mantram is:
gAyatreNa tvA cchandasA parigrhNAmi traishTubhena cchandasA
parigrhNAmi jAgatena tvA cchandasA parigrhNAmi
sukshmA cAsi SivA cAsi syonA cAsi sushadA cAsyUrjasvatI cAsi
payasvatI ca --- Yajur Vedam I.27
VedAs speak at length about flora and fauna at many places. Speaking of flora,
the VedAs salute the Lord as Vanaspati, the Master of Forests and plants
(atharva Vedam III.8), the food grains, the cereals, the creepers, the fruit
bearing trees and non-fruit bearing trees, the medicinal herbs (oushadis).
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SrI Dhanvantari bhagavAn - Lord of the Oushadi-s
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aayarpAdi girls waking up Nappinnai (thanks: www.desikan.com)
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The connection between the previous nILA sUkta mantram focusing on the
panca prANAs and the abundant food stuffs from the flora (cereals, grains,
medicinal herbs) and their utilization for higher goals is seen in another yajur
veda Mantram ( I.20):
dhAnyamasi dhinuhi devAn prANAya tvA dAnAya tvA vyAnAya tvA
dIrgamanu prasitimAyushe dhAm devo va: savitA hiraNyapANi:
prati grbNAtyacchidreNa pANinA cakshuse tvA mahInAm payoasi
Meaning:
The foodstuffs and water purified by the performance of yaj~nA strengthen
the body and sense organs. May we resort to yaj~nA for sound health, for
activities, for vitality, for long life full of happiness and prosperity. The
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glorious creator and emancipator of Universe, through His perfect
Omnipresence, blesses us for dissemination of true sublime knowledge.
Aae< mhadeVyE c ivhe iv:[upTNyE c xImih,
tae nIa caedyat!.
. hir> Aaem!.
om mahA devyai ca vidmahe vishNupatnyai ca dhImahi |
tanno nILA pracodayAt ||
|| hari: om ||
Meaning:
We meditate on this MahA devi, nILA PirATTi. For that we devote ourselves to
the VishNu Patni. May that nILA devi invigorate us!
nILA devyai nama:
dAsan, Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan
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