Introduction to Section 10.9

In the last decad, the Āḻvār had put the Lord, a very inconvenient question and thereby put Him in quite an embarrassing predicament. Shorn of all quibblings, the Lord would have had to say, in reply, that it was in the exercise of His unbridled independence that He had kept the Āḻvār, deep down in the mire of Saṃsāra for ages, and now, invoking the self-same trait of His, He has been pleased to extend all the favours, currently enjoyed by the Āḻvār. It would, however, be hardly appropriate for Him to say so, especially at this crucial juncture. For Him, it was now a veritable battle of wits and He skilfully tried to tide over this unenviable situation, rather, cover it up by calling upon the clouds and the oceans to roar like an orchestra, heralding the Āḻvār’s ascent to Heaven and the inhabitants of all the seven islands to bestow on him their choicest offerings. This is how the errant priest, officiating at marriage ceremonies, covers up his inadvertent mistakes in regard to the recital of the Mantras, that is, mixing up the wrong texts pertaining to the funeral obsequies, in between. On such occasions, which might, of course, be few and far between, the clever priest covers his awkwardness by vociferously commanding the piper and the drummer to play their notes in a crescendo, thereby drowning his egregious blunder in that babel.

The sweet music and the fanfare of trumpets etc., from the land of the Kinnaras, the Gandharvas and the Garuḍas in the upper regions, hailing the Āḻvār’s ascent to Heaven, are made to fall on the ears of the Āḻvār; the chanks and bugles sound all over, beautiful damsels with spear-shaped eyes sing in chorus the Āḻvār’s glory and the ‘Maruth Gaṇas’ and the ‘Aṣṭa Vasus’ keep chanting the ‘Stotras’, the laudatory hymns continually. The upward journey of the Āḻvār to Heaven through the famous “Arcirādi Mārga”, the propitiation of the Āḻvār by the Angels, en route, the Āḻvār’s entry into Heaven and the grand ovation accorded to him by the denizens on the yonder side, his access to the gem-set hall where Lord Mahāviṣṇu holds His ceremonial Durbar, duly conducted by the guides nominated for the purpose, and attainment of the Lord’s lotus feet—the whole panorama is brought by the Lord within the Āḻvār’s mental comprehension. The Āḻvār voices forth his experience, in this decad, in an esoteric manner, making it appear that the devotees of the Supreme Lord Śrīman Nārāyaṇa, Who ascended Heaven through this exalted route exclusively earmarked for them, were greeted all along the route and received with special honours by the denizens of the upper regions, showering praises on the new-comers, so on and so forth. It could also be deduced that the Āḻvār thereby intended to infuse confidence in the Śrī Vaiṣṇavas, the ardent devotees of Lord Mahā-Viṣṇu, that they too shall surely attain the bliss, currently experienced by the Āḻvār.