KULASEKAR AZHWAR - PART 4

The Golden Step and the Final Surrender

We have traveled with Kulaśēkhara Azhwār as he climbed down the "Ladder of Rejection." He has turned away from crowns, celestial kingdoms, and even his own humanity. Now, he stands at the ultimate boundary: the very entrance to the inner sanctum of Tirumala. He no longer asks to be a bird or a tree; he asks to become the threshold itself, for one specific reason: to never stop looking at the Lord.

The Climax: The Golden Step (Verse 9)

This is the absolute culmination of his Strategy for Permanence. Kulaśēkhara acknowledges his own heavy burden of ancient karma (valvinaikaL) and offers his final, breathtaking request:

PERUMAL THIRUMOZHI – 4.9

செடியாய வல்வினைகள் தீர்க்கும் திருமாலே!

நெடியானே! வேங்கடவா! நின்கோயிலின் வாசல்

அடியாரும் வானவரும் அரம்பையரும் கிடந்தியங்கும்

படியாய்க் கிடந்துஉன் பவளவாய் காண்பேனே.

śeḍiyāya valvinaigaḷ tīrkkum tirumālē!

neḍiyānē! vēṅkaṭavā! ninkōyilin vāśal

aḍiyārum vānavarum arambaiyarum kiḍandiyaṅgum

paḍiyāyk kiḍand un pavaḷa vāy kāṇpēnē.

Line-by-Line Meaning

śeḍiyāya valvinaigaḷ tīrkkum tirumālē: Oh Tirumāl, the One who dissolves the grave sins committed over eons!

neḍiyānē! vēṅkaṭavā!: Oh Lord of Tiruvēṅkaṭam! Oh Neḍiyānē (The Great One who never forgets His assurance to those who surrender)!

ninkōyilin vāśal: At the entrance of Your temple...

aḍiyārum vānavarum arambaiyarum kiḍandiyaṅgum: ...where Your devotees, the gods, and the celestial dancers constantly move...

paḍiyāyk kiḍand un pavaḷa vāy kāṇpēnē: ...let me lie down as the entrance step, so that I may forever gaze upon Your coral-red lips.

The Vantage Point of the Step

His desire is not just to be "floor," but to be in a position of constant, unblinking adoration. By choosing this exact spot, he ensures that his sight-line is permanently fixed on the Lord. He chooses this spot to receive the Bhakta Pāda Dhūli (the holy dust of the devotees' feet), but his eyes are fixed on the pavaḷa vāy. He wants to witness the Lord in all His glory, specifically that bewitching smile that signals the dissolution of all his fears and sins.

The "NediyaanE" Insight: He calls the Lord Neḍiyānē—the One with the "long memory" for grace. While we might forget the small good we do, the Lord remembers it forever. Kulaśēkhara finds his ultimate security here: in the gaze of a Lord who refuses to see the faults of His adiyaar.

Beyond Choice: The Ultimate "Anything" (Verse 10)

In a state of total, egoless exhaustion, he eventually stops even choosing his form. He tells the Lord:

...எம்பெருமான் பொன்மலைமேல் ஏதேனும் ஆவேனே.

(...Let me be born as ANYTHING on the golden hill of my Lord!)

As Sri Paraśara Bhattar noted, "Anything" (yEdhEnum) means asking for a form so humble that it goes unnoticed. Having rejected the spotlight of the throne, he simply wants to merge into the Tirumala landscape—as long as he is there, in the presence of that Grace.

The Steadfast Conclusion

The Azhwār seals the decad with the word "Maṇṇiyē" (Steadfast/Everlasting). He successfully traded the mortal "wealth of the flesh" for the eternal "wealth of the Spirit."

To this day, the entrance step leading into the inner sanctum of every Sri Vaishnava temple is honored as the "Kulaśēkhara Paḍi." Although today only the Archakas (priests) cross this threshold to perform the daily Kaimkaryam, the Azhwār remains where he wished to be: at the feet of the Lord, serving as the silent, golden foundation for all who approach the Divine.

We end the journey with the Azhwār's own immortal words:

படியாய்க் கிடந்துஉன் பவளவாய் காண்பேனே.

paḍiyāyk kiḍand un pavaḷa vāy kāṇpēnē.