ABSTRACT
We enter the År-åyirappa†i commentary (henceforth, År-åyiram) first by looking, in Section 4.1, at how it is structured. Though it is the least systematic of the commentaries, and frequently, there is only a hint of the ordering principle at work, certain devices are employed by Pi¬¬ån-to give the TVM a plot. The most significant of these devices is the “dramatic narrative” by which the entire poem is seen as Nammål-vår’s spiritual journey from a state of separation from God to a state of actual, physical union with him in the divine land. Within this narrative, approximately at a little more than the half-way point in the poem, the verse VI.10.10 is chosen as the moment when Nammål-vår does prapatti to Vi‚~u in his form as Vêπka†anåtha at Tirumala. This honing in on TVM VI.10.10 as the locus of self-surrender is undoubtedly the most significant contribution of Pi¬¬ån-to the commentarial tradition. We shall then see how he singles out this verse, endowing it with significance and setting it apart from innumerable other, similar verses in the poem. We shall then further see, that after the prapatti of this verse Nammål-vår’s spiritual status within the poem is transformed because he has done something to effect his own salvation. In the next section (4.2) the general themes relating to taking refuge and how they are handled prior to the sixth centum by the commentator are discussed. Section 4.3 deals with the terminology of the År-åyiram on VI.10.10, the similarity between the commentarial vocabulary and that of the Gadyatraya as well as the manner in which Pi¬¬ån-differentiates this verse from other similar verses on taking refuge. The soteriological significance of the verse will be discussed in 4.4 while 4.5 examines the ål-vår’s spiritual status post-prapatti/samåçraya~a. Vi‚~u-Nåråya~a’s role in this soteriological process is looked at in 4.6 and the analysis of the prapatti doctrines of the År-åyiram concludes, in 4.7, with an analysis of the overall interpretation of Nammål-vår in the commentary.
