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Sri (Dr.) V. Sadagopan
(sgopan@computer.net) Fri, 6 Nov 1998 Dear BhakthAs : During the occasion of the SamarpaNam of ThiruvAbharaNam for ThiruviNNagarappan at Oppiliappan Koil on October 11 , a thought crossed my mind as I enjoyed the Thirumanjana mahOthsavam for the Moolavar . The thought was this : Sri Ranganathan has the most beautiful Thirumanjanak Kattiyam from his purOhithar , ParAsara Bhattar. Sri VeerarAghavan has his lovely Kattiyam for Thirumanjanam thanks to the loving devotion of His paramparai Trustees ,the rever
ed Azhagiya Singhars . Our PerumAL at ThiruviNNagar has no Kattiyam todate to accompany His beautiful NeerAttam . Although it may be impertinent on my part to engage in creating a Thriumanjanak Kattiyamin the context of the contributions of the great giants of our
sampradhAyam , I thought it will be acceptable to Him as the prattling from an affectionate child of His . Therefore I have emboldened myself to engage in this Kaimkaryam for my Kula Dhaivam . There is another pressing reason for hastening with this Kaimkaryam .Our annual Thirumanjana Kaimkaryam on the VidaayERRi dinam at the end of the ThirukkalyANa Uthsavam in Iyppasi falls on Novemebr 11 , next Wednesday . My father has written in the Koi
l records that his descendants should perform this Kaimkaryam forever . It is our Bhaagyam to do so . This Kattiyam writing Kaimkaryam fits into this overall context .May Sri Bhumi Devi SamEtha Sri Oppilaippan accept this kaimkaryam from this seelamillA siRiyOn and give me the insight and energy to engage in this Kaimkaryam .With the paraphrased prayer of Swami Desikan etched in Sri Abheethi Sthva slOkam , I pray to Sri Bhu Vallabhan
to accept this bold effort begun without reflection on my totally inadequate qualifications to engage in such a stupendous task. I pray to Him to accept this foolish offering of a mandha Mathi as His Archanam and AarAdhanam out of His own natural compassi
on for the mistakes made by His loving children .Swami Desiakan's prayer in this context is as follows : atharkitha hitha ahitha krama visEsham aarabhyathE tadh api uchitham archanam parigruhANa ( mannAtha ) Here Swami says at the outset of his sthuthi on Sri RanganaathA that he has not sorted out in a logical fashion the benefits and ill effects of the effort that he has started as a person of "average intellect" limited by thriguNAs . He appeals however to Sri RanganathA to accept even this imperfect effort as His AarAdhanam out of H
is svaabhAvika DayA guNam . Following the path shown by our AchAryAs, this Kattiyam for Sri OppilAappan will be interspersed with the MangalAsAsanams of AchAryAs and AzhwArs .May they all bless this Kaimkaryam ! (Dear Bhaktas: )I will have the Kattiyam portion first and will include meaning/comments in paranthesis after each of the Kattiyam sections . Sri Oppilaippan Thirumanjanak Kattiyam *************************************** 1 . Jaya Vijayee Bhava ! Sri Bhagavan NaarAyaNa ! PanchAvathAra ! Swamin ! paraak ! BhU Vallabha ParAk ! ( Hail to Thee ! Oh Lord NaarAyaNA ! May Thou be victorious !Oh Lord , who took five manifestations at ThiruviNNagar as Yennappan , Ponnappan , Mutthappan, MaNiappan and ThiruviNNagrappan ! Oh the supreme Master of the Universe ! Hark ! Oh dear one to
Bhumi Piraatti ! Hark ! This type of announcements is used at Royal courts by VaithALikAs or KattiyakkArars to announce the presence/arrival of Kings. Our Lord is King of Kings and Deva Raajan . Hence , such a Kattiyam is a fitting start ). 2 .sankalpa kalpalathikAm avadhim kshamAyA : svEcchA VarAhamahisheem sulabhAnukampAm I Visvasya mAtharam akinchana kAmadhEnum VisvambharAm asaraNa: SaraNam prapadhyE II ( It is common tradition to salute the PirAtti of the Lord first because of Her PurushkAram or power to plead with Her Lord to pardon our gross sins and grant us Moksham . Here the Prayer Of Swami Desikan to Bhumi DEvi in his BhU sthuthi is included .
This is the first slOkam of BhU sthuthi of Swami Desikan . Meaning of this slOkam : Bhumi DEvi is like a Kalpaka creeper that grants the wishes desired by those who areHer adiyArs ; She puts up with the trespasses of adiyArs and forgives them. In this matter , She is the limit of forbearance .She readily grant
s Her grace to Her adiyArs. She stands in the role of Mother of the universe and treats all chEthanAs with equal affection .She is a veritable wish granting KaamadhEnu for those , who perform Prapatthi to Her , when they are unable to undertake Bhakthi Yo
gam as their preferred route for their salvation .I ,Swami Desikan, who has no other succor surrender unto Her with the above auspicious kalyANa guNAs ) 3.Srimacch SaDAri Kalivairi Mahath SarObhi: nAthAgamAntha gurumukhya gurUtthamaisccha I samvAnchithAthisayitha priya mangaLou Thau Bhuvallabhasya charaNou SaraNam prapathyE II ( This is the eighth slokam of Sri Oppiliappan Prapatthi sthuthi . The saraNAgathan says here : " I perform Prapatthi at the sacred feet of ThiruviNNagarappan , which have received the exalted mangaLAsAsanams of NammAzhwAr, Thirumangai ,Poygai AzhwAr , pEy AzhwAr , Naatha Muni and NigamAntha MahA Desikan ".) 4.yaavadh AvarthathE chakram yaavathee cha VasundharA I thaavath tvamiha Sarvasya SwAmithvam anuvarthaya II ( This is the twelfth slOkam of Sri Oppilaippan MangaLam . The author prays to the Lord : " Oh ThiruviNNagarappA ! May Thou Lord over this universe as Sarva Swaami and protect all janthus as long as there are Chandran,Sooryan and the stars ). 5.udhyath kOti divaakarEndhu subhagam peethAmBharAlankrutham naanAbhUshaNa bhUshitham navaghana shyAmam prasannAnam I lAvaNyAmbhunidhim nirasthalavaNam Srisankha chakrAnjitham SrivaikuntapurAdhipam Subhatanum BhUmyA: pathim samsrayE II ( This is the first slOkam of Sri Oppiliappan"s SuprabhAtham and also serves as a dhyAna slOkam . Meaning: I worship always the Lord of Bhumi Devi, ThiruviNNagarappan , who appears in effulgence like crores of rising Suns ; He is resplendent with all kinds of Jewelery and is bedecked in a beautiful peethAmbharam ; He has the dark bluish hue remindi
ng one of the dark clouds of the rainy season and has a cool countenance , which is a treasure house of beauty ; He adorns Sudarsanam and Paanchajanyam in His upper hands and destroys completely the sins of those who worship Him ; He has banished any desire for salt in His naivEdhyams consistent with the promise He made to Sage MarkandEyA to win the hand of his daughter in marriage at Tulasi Vanam ). 6. taapAn kshipan prasavithA sumanOgaNAnAm pracchAya seethaLataLa: pradisan phalAni I tvath samgamAdh bhavathi Maadhavi labdhapOsha: saakhA satairadhigathO HarichandhanOsou II ( This is the seventh slOkam of Bhu Sthuthi of Swami Desikan .Here, the famous AchAryA points out that ThiruviNNagarappan's glories grow multifold as a result of His union with Bhumi Devi. Swami compares the Lord to a Harichandhanaa tree saluted by hun
dreds of Veda saakhAs and points out that this wish granting tree becomes reinfoced in its power to bless the prapannAs due to its association with Bhumi DEvi.There is only one thAyAr at ThiruviNNagar(viz)., Bhumi DEvi and the Lord is never ever separated from Her ). 7 .taapatrayeem niravadhim bhavathee dhayArdhrA : samsAra garma janithAm sapadhi kshipantha:I maathar bhajanthu madhurAmrutha varsha maithreem MaayA Varaaha dayithE mayi thE katAkshA : II ( This is the 31st slOkam of Bhu Sthuthi of Swami Desikan. Since ThiruviNNagar is NaacchiyAr Koil , where there is prAdhanyam for Bhumi DEvi , we salute Her especially . Her Lord would enjoy it and welcome it even more than salutations directed at Him
. Meaning of the SlOkam : Oh Mother of the Universe ! Oh Devi who incarnated as the divine consort of Your Lord , who appeared out of His own volition as Varaaha Murthy ! This samsAram is a veritable parched summer. The three tApams desicate the chethanams in samsAric existence . The intense sufferings from the three kinds of Taapams are instantly quelled by your cool kataakshams . May Your cool glances resembling the nectarine rain fall on me also and destroy my
taapams ) . 8.tvam mE aham mE kuthastath tadhapi kutha idham vEdamUla pramANAth yEthaccha aNAdhisiddhAth anubhava vibhavAth tarhi sAkrOsa yEva I kvAkrOsa: kasya GithAdheeshu mama vidhitha: kOathra sAkshee sudhee syAth hantha tvath pakshapAthee sa ithi nrukalahE mrugyamadhyasThavath tvam II ( This passage is from the Thirumanjanak Kattiyam of ParAsara Bhattar for Sri RanganAthA . This is the first of the stray verses of his Kattiyam sung in front of Sri RangarAjA during His hirumanjanam even today . This is in the form of a captivating di
alog between a stubborn chethanam and its Master, the Lord Himself . The Lord of Srirangam notices the "impunity and stubbornness " of the Jeevan , which considers itself to be a svathanthra purushan . The Lord in wet clothes from His just begun Thirumanjanam reminds the argumentative Jeevan that it is not ind
ependent and it is His property as attested by VedAs , GitA and men of wisdom . The Jeevan disagrees with the Lord wearing a TuLasi garland on His wet body . ParAsara Bhattar reminds us that the situation of the Lord proving His claim over His Lordship over the protsting and deluded Jeevan is like practise of DivyA referred to in smr*ithi texts . Divya practise relates to taking an oath to give testimony . To prove the ancient sesha-Seshi relationship b
etween the Jeevan and the Lord , Parasara Bhattar constructed this wonderful, imaginary dialog : Lord : tvam mE ( You are Mine ; I own You ). Jeevan : aham mE ( No, I belong to myself; I am independent) Lord : Kuthas tath? (No, How could that be possible ?) Jeeavn :Tadhapi kutha: ? ( How about Your own claim ? ) Lord: idham vEda moola pramANAth ( My claim is based on the authority of the VedAs ) Jeevan : yEthacchAnaAdhi siddhAth anubhava vibhavAth ( My position however is based on my own experience , which is " beginnigless in nature"). Lord : Tarhi SaakrOsa yEva( But that position of yours has alrady been repudiated ) Jeevan : KaakrOsa: kasya ? ( where and by whom was this repudiated ? ) Lord: GitAdheeshu mama vidhitha: ( By Me , ofcourse ! I repudiated it clearly in GitA ) Jeevan: kOathra Saakshi: ? ( Pray , who is the witenss for Your repudiation in GitA ? ) Lord: Sudhee: syAth ( A man of wisdom and clear mind) Jeevan :Hantha, tvath pakshapaadheesa ( Well , well! Then Your wise man is partial to You ). Lord's above conversation with the deluded soulreminding of its eternal sesha realtionship (servitude) to the Lord is to be remembered by us during the Thirumanjanam . He is attesting to that sacred truth with wet cloth and Tulasi garland . 9. SvAmi SvasEsham Svavasam SvabharathvEna nirbharam I Svadhattha SvadhiyA SvArTham Svasmin nyasyasi mAm Svayam II ( This slOkam is one of the most important slOkam of SWami Desikan's NyAsa Dasakam , where he performed SaraNAgathi at the lotus feet of Our PerumAL standing as archA on top of Hasthigiri .We recite it regularly to remind of the Sesha-Seshi relationship that cna not ever be cut asunder between us and the
Master , our Lord . This uRavu is " ozhikka OzhiyAthu " as Bhumi Piratti pointed out in Her THiruppaavai paasuram .This is the uRavu that ANDAL's father , PeriyAzhwAr , referred to in his ThiruppallANdu paasuram : " Yenthai tanthai tanthai tanthai tamm mUtthappan yEzhpaDik kaal thoDangi vanthu vazhi vazhi aatc cheyhinROm " Swami Desikan instructs us here about Saathvika ThyAgam constituted by its three parts (viz)., Karthruthva thyAgam, MamathA thyAgam and Phala thyAgam , in this most important slOkam . The gist of the meaning of this slOkam is as follows : Sriman NaarayaNan is the Lord of us all . I am his bonded servant . I stay totally at His command .He gave me Himself this jn~Anam about my status and eternal relationship . With the blessings of this jn~Anam , He has made sure that I understand that t
here is nothing else for me to do for my protection and has accepted total responsibility for my protection . The fruits arising out of my protection also belongs to Him . He has made sure that I am not connected with that fruit of that rakshaNam and has
now placed me at His own lotus feet and releived me of all responsibilities and concerns. 10. naNNalariya pirAnE NaaraNA neerAda Vaaraai vaaitha puhazh MaNivaNNA manjanamAda nee vaarAi vaNNam azhahiya namBee manjanamAda vaarAi mANikkamE yenn maNiyE manjanmAda vaarAi The above four lines are from PeriiyAzhwAr's NeerAttam paasuram that we recite during the Lord's Thirumanjanam . Here PeriyAzhwAr transforms Himself into YashOdhA piratti , the anxious mother chasing the Aayar kulak kozhundhu and persuading her dear so
n to stand still so that she can enjoy bathing Him . The meaning of these four lines assembled here are : Oh, My NaarAyaNA !Oh Lord who is not easy to approach normally ! Please come hither for Your enjoyable bath . Oh Lord with gem-bedecked aabharaNams ! Oh Lord with the hue of blue sapphire ! Oh Lord of fixed glory ! Please come near to take Your sacred
bath . Oh Lord with the ThirumEni celebrated for its unparalleled soundharyam ! Please come over here to permit me to bathe You. Oh my cherished red ruby ! my dear gem of a son ! Please do not run away . Come now and come here so that I can perform Thiru
mnajanam for You . 11. ninRa marAmaram saaytthAi nee piRantha ThiruvONam inRu, nee neerAdavEndum EmpirAn OdAthE vaarAi nin thiratthEnallEn namBee nee piRantha ThirunannAL nanRu nee neeradavENdum NaaraNA OdAthE vaarAi These portions of the Neeraattam paasurams from periyAzhwAr remind YasOdhA Bhaagyam that it is His birthday , when SravaNa nakshathram is in ascendance and it is essential that He should receive His visEsha Thirumanjanam on this special day . YasOdhA a
ppeals to her quick-footed son not to run away from her . She concedes that she does not fully comprehend His glories as SarvEsvaran , who felled the YamaLArjunams ( the twin marutham trees in her garden )and performed many adhbhuthams as Her son in gOku
lam as an infant . * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Dear BhakthAs : We will continue here with the divya prabhandham-based salutations to ThiruviNNagarappan that request Him to accept our loving invitation to take part in His Thirumanjanam . Kattiya Vaakhyams from 12-15 address Him with affection and eu
logize His glories . The meanings of these divya prabhandham sections are given in paranthesis after the Kattiya Vaakhyams : * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 12. aNNal seythalai kadal kadainthathunuL kaNNuthal nanjuNNakkaNda PerumALE ! pOthalar nedumudip puNNiyap PerumALE ! pUmaru pozhilaNi ViNNahar vaazh PerumALE ! Kadal soozh Ilankai RaavaNanai seRRa PerumALE ! kOthil senkOl kudai mannaridai nadantha PerumALE ! ( Oh Lord , who commanded the army of devAs and asurAs as well as churned the milky ocean to bring out the nectar !Oh Lord , who witnessed during that occasion Your grandson , ParamEsvaran partaking the Haala Haala Visham for the protection of the world and its beings to please You ! Oh Lord with the resplendent , tall crown decorated with
the garlands made up of freshly blossomed flowers of the day ! Oh Lord residing eternally in the KshEthram of ThiruviNNagar known for its beautiful groves populated with diverse flowering trees ! Oh Lord , who ended the life of the arrogant RaavaNA , the
king of LankhA surrounded by the Oceans ! Oh Lord, who walked among the rows of kings assembled in DuryOdhanan's court on behalf of the PaandavAs as their ambassador(Paandava DhUthan)! 13. Vanthu kuRaLuruvAi nimirnthu maavali vELviyil maNNaLantha EmpirAnE ! nila madanthai tannai idanthu pulhik kOttidai vaitthu niRkum EmpirAnE ! (Oh Lord, who appeared at the Yaj~na saalai of MahA Bali as a dwarf and then expanded in all directions as Thrivikraman to measure the earth , the sky and the region in between with Your two steps ! Oh Lord , who brought back BhUmi dEvi from below the
ocean , embraced Her and positioned Her with great affection by the side of Your gigantic tusk and who gives us Your darsanam as BhU VarAha PerumAn !) 14. kunRaal kuLir maari Tadutha aruLALA ! kOlAl nirai mEyttha yemkOvalar KaNNA ! (Oh most benovlent KaNNA , who protected the residents of Gokulam from the wrath of Indran by lifting Govardhana Giri as an umbrella against his ferocious ice storm mingled with boulders ! Oh Lord who took the simple duties of a cowherd to graze the co
ws for the pleasure of being with the GopAs and Gopis at BrindhAvanam !) 15. undhimEl naanmuhanai padaittha PemmAnE ! tannadiyAr manatthenRum amudhamAhi thihazhvOnE ! ( Oh magnanimous One , who created the four-faced BrahmA on a lotus that sprouted out of Your naabhi! Oh Lord , who always pervades the heart region of Your dear ones as nectarine presence there !) 16. Aazhi mazhaik KaNNA ! poovaip poo VaNNA ! mey niNru kEttaruLAi adiyEn seeyum ViNNappamE ! ( Oh Mandala nirvAhaka Parjanya PrabhO ! Oh Lord , who nourishes the world with abundant , life giving rains in Your role as the power behind VaruNa Devan ! Oh Athasi pushpa samaana varNa !Oh Lord, who has the blue hue of the KaasAm poo ! Please bless
us by listening to our humble and fervent request ! ) 17. yEkikrutha dhyumaNi Bimbha sahasra dheepthi kireetamum (with Your resplendent Crown shining with the unified radiance of thousands of Suns) kuDila kunthaLa kaanthi rUpamaana thrukk kuzhar KaRRayum (with Your abundant curly locks of shining black hair) vikacha pankaja lOchanamudaya unn Thirumuha mandalamum ( with Your face lighting up with the lustre of a just blossomed lotus ) ashtami Chandranukku samAnamAna Thiru neRRiyum ( with Your forehead shining like the beautiful, semi-circular ashtami Moon ) laavaNya varshiNi lalADa taDE Bibhrath Urdhva punDramum ( With Your ThirumaNN kaappu shining and blessing us with its radiance from its palce in Your forehead ) aakarNithE aasA: prasAdhayithum Thiruccheviyum ( With Your ears, which have the power to fulfill the people's prayers at the same instant they receive the appeal for help from Your adiyArs) kandharpa lAncchana tanu samAnamAna makara kuNdalangaLum ( with Your lovely Makara Kundalams reminding us about the insignia of the fish on the flag of Manmathan , Your son ) kaama saraasanasya maathrukA rUpamaana puruvankaLum ( With Your bewitching brows reminding us of the bow of Manmathan ) aalakshya Satthvam athivEla dayOttharangamAna kaNNKaLum ( With Your mercy-laden befriending eyes that resemble the well stocked ocean full of life and lulled there by the gentle waves of Your DayA ) avaikaLil uLLa anAmaya Vaakhya garbhangaL koNda katAkshangaLum ( With the embedded message in Your eyes that are pregnant with the concern for our KshEmam ) nigama nisvasithamAna Thiru mookkum ( with the beauty of Your nose that inhales the Vedams as its prANan ) kovaip Pazhatthai pazhikkum thiruvatharankaLum ( With Your beautiful red lips , which defeat easily the beautiful red hue of Kovai fruits) sankha nibhamaana thiruk Kazhutthum ( with the beauty of Your neck reminding one of a lovely conch in its shape ) aajAnu lambhithamAna thiruk kaikaLum ( with Your long arms reaching all the way down to the knees) padhAravindham kANpikkum dakshiNa karamum ( With Your right hand showing Your lotus feet) samsAra saagaram ivvaLavu thaan yena kaaNpikkum vaama kati hasthamum ( With Your left hastham indicating that the fearsome ocean of Samsaram is only thigh deep ) Srivatsa Kousthubha RamA vanamaalika angamAyudya Thiru maarpum ( With Your chest housing Srivatsam , KousthubhA gem, Periya PirAtti and the Vyjayanthi Vana Maalai) aardhram tama mathanam aasritha tArakamAna ThiruvuLLamum ( With Your ThiruvuLLam that is moist with the flow of DayA and offering protection to those who seek Your refuge ) dayithOpadhAnamaana Thirut thodaikaLum ( With the strong and beautiful thighs serving as the pillows for Your devis) gOpAngaNEshu krutha chankraNamAna jaanukkaLum ( with Your Beautiful knees that crawled across the houses of GopAs of Gokulam ) Ramaa MaheebhyAM samvAhithamAna charaNa padmankaLum ( with Your sacred feet pressed by Sri and BhU devis ) sankha chakrAdhi aayuthankaLUm, azhagiya AbharaNankaLUm sErnthu jaajvalvyamAi viLangum devareerikku , adiyEN seyyum oru viNNappamum ithuvE (May I as Your adiyavan beseech You to listen to my humble request as You give us the blessings of sEvai of Your SubhAsrayam in Archai at ThiruviNNagar with Your sacred weapons , beautiful ornaments , golden yellow peethAmparam and sarvAnga Soundharyam ? ) DandakAraNyatthil nadantha kaLai aaravO BrindhAvanatthil aadi Odiya vaattam theeravO OthamAkadalaik kadanthEri RaavaNanai azhittha kaLaippO singamathAi avuNan thiralAham keeNda asathiyO Bhumip pirAttiyai thEdi Odiya thApam theeravO ThAyAi vantha pEyin uyirai urinchiya mayakku aravO paanchAli koonthal mudikka Bharathap pOrr seytha asathiyO kaNNinuNN siRut thAmpinAl uNdAna vidAi theeravO Devareer Thirumanjanam KaNdaruLi , kOlam seythu , inghE ninRu , adiyOmOdum ninnOdum pirivinRi aayiram pallANdu , manperu vaanaham uyya, amarar uyya , maNN uyya , unn tann leelA vibhUthiyil manisar uyya , thunbamihu tuyarhaL ahala , ayarvonrilA aanandham vaLara , ahamellaam poorikkum Thondar uLLam kuLira , Sri MarkanDEya Maharishi kaNdu kaLitthu pallANdu paada , YennappanE , Yenn MaNiyE , MutthE , PonnE , amudhamE , pallvahayum parantha PerumAnE , Devareer manjanamAdi aruLvathE ! Parama NaarAyaNa ! BhUvallabha ! SravaNa VenkatEsA ! Jaya Vijayee Bhava ! Sankha tArA , Padhma TaarA , Sahasra TaarA mukEna theerttha thrayam prakatayathi AbhishEka Vaari . Bumi Devi SamEtha Sri Oppiliappan Thiruvadit ThaamaraikaLE SaraNam . AzhwAr, AchAryan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam . DaasAnu Daasan Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan P.S : Sunday , November 8th (1998) is the VidAyERRI day at the end of the ThirukkalyANa uthsavam for the divya dampathis of Oppiliappan Koil . The constellation of Mrugaseersham is in ascendance on this day . My revered father , Poojya Sri , Parama padha Vaasi , Poundarikapuram Bruhaspathi VaradachAr swamy was born on this day .He set up
the trust for performing Thirumanjanam to our Kula dhaivam on this day every year by his decendants. In four hour's time ( 1 PM , Sunday , Novemebr 8) the Thirumanjanam for ThiruviNNagarappan will start . My sister is representing me there at the sannidhi of the divya dampathis . On this sObhana muhUrtham , I hasten to offer unto His lotus feet this Thirumanjanak Kattiyam from this distance and seek His blessings for one and all !May we have the good fortune to read this Thirumanjanak Kattiyam by the sannidhi adhyApaakam Swamig
aL in person during the forthcoming Kaisika DwAdasi Thotti Thirumanjanam for the Uthsavar, Ponnappan and His divine consort, BhUmi DEvi . Subhamasthu , KrishNArpaNam .
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Last modified on Thursday, February 1, 2001