thiruvAimozhi – 1.4.5 – nalgith thAn

srI:
srImathE satakOpAya nama:
srImathE rAmAnujAya nama:
srImath varavaramunayE nama:

Full series >> First Centum >> Fourth decad

Previous pAsuram

bhagavan

Introduction for this pAsuram

Highlights from thirukkurukaippirAn piLLAn‘s introduction

No specific introduction.

Highlights from nanjIyar‘s introduction

parAngusa nAyagi requests a few kurugu (heron/stork/pelican) birds to relay back emperumAn‘s reply after telling him that if he does not protect her, his nArAyaNathvam which includes protecting everyone will become questionable.

Highlights from vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s introduction

Subsequently, parAngusa nAyagi requests a young kurugu which has a small body which makes it easy to travel (far), to go to emperumAn who is sarvarakhsakan (protector of all) to inform about her.

Highlights from periyavAchchAn piLLai‘s introduction

Similar to nampiLLai‘s introduction.

Highlights from nampiLLai‘s introduction as documented by vadakkuth thiruvIdhip piLLai

parAngusa nAyagi says (to emperumAn) “Forget about us who are going to die any way; But you are trying to live  – Don’t you want to save yourself?” She tells (the kurugu) to inform emperumAn to preserve his title of nArAyaNathvam (being the protector of all).

pAsuram

நல்கித் தான் காத்தளிக்கும் பொழிலேழும் வினையேற்கே,
நல்கத் தான் ஆகாதொ? நாரணனைக் கண்டக்கால்
மல்கு நீர்ப் புனல் படப்பை இரை தேர் வண் சிறு குருகே.
மல்கு நீர்க் கண்ணேற்கோர் வாசகம் கொண்டு அருளாயே

nalgith thAn kAththaLikkum pozhilEzhum vinaiyERkE
nalgath thAn AgAdhO nAraNanaik kaNdakkAl
malgu nIrp punal padappai irai thEr vaN siRu kurugE
malgu nIrk kaNNERkOr vAsagam koNdu aruLAyE

Word-by-Word meanings (based on vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s 12000 padi)

pozhil Ezhum – seven worlds
nalgi – being desirous without their seeking out for their well-being
thAn – without their expecting his help
kAththu – removing their hurdles
aLikkum – fulfilling their desires
thAn – him
vinaiyERkEyO – for me who is very sinful
nalgal AgAdhu – being indifferent
nAraNanai – nArAyaNan who has exclusive relationship with everyone to protect everyone
kaNdakkAl – on seeing him
malgum – flowing abundantly
nIr – having the nature
punal – having water
padappai – gardens
irai – prey
thEr – searching for
vaN siRu kurugE – pleasing to the eyes and young kurugu
malgum – abundant
nIr – having tears
kaNNERku – me who is having (teary) eyes
Or vAsagam – a sentence (a message)
koNdu – taking from me
aruLAy – help me by informing him

Simple transalation (based on vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s 12000 padi)

Oh young kurugu who searches for prey in gardens which have abundance of water and who is pleasing to eyes! When you see emperumAn who has exclusive relationship with everyone to protect everyone and who with great desire himself removes the hurdles and fulfills the desires of the (people in the) worlds without their expecting so, you give him the message taken from me who is with tearful eyes. nArAyaNan indicates antharyAmithvam (being the in-dwelling super-soul of everyone) and samudhrasAyithvam (lying down in the causal ocean). As said in thiruvAimozhi 8.10.3 “siRu mA manisar” (AchAryas with small form but great characteristics), AchAryas forms being small is highlighted.

vyAkyAnams (commentaries)

Highlights from thirukkurukaippirAn piLLAn‘s vyAkyAnam

AzhwAr says to some kurugus to inform emperumAnbhagavAn who is most merciful, forgives the offenses of all jIvAthmAs, removes what is unfavourable for them and protects them in a friendly manner. Why can’t he forgive my mistakes and accept me and mingle with me?” and requests them to get the response from him.

Highlights from nanjIyar‘s vyAkyAnam

Similar to piLLAn‘s vyAkyAnam.

Highlights from periyavAchchAn piLLai‘s vyAkyAnam

Similar to nampiLLai‘s vyAkyAnam.

Highlights from nampiLLai‘s vyAkyAnam as documented by vadakkuth thiruvIdhip piLLai

  • nalgi – While protecting his vibhUthi (wealth), instead of doing it as a duty, he does it as a desirable result for himself. Just like I have so much attachment towards emperumAn, he has so much attachment towards his subjects.
  • thAn – without their expecting, he himself is going and protecting them.
  • pozhil Ezhum – pozhil generally means bhUmi. Here it is indicates all fourteen layers where the seventh layer from the top-down is Earth. It can also indicate Earth which has seven islands.
  • nalgiththAn kAththaLikkum …nalgi – Since all of these worlds are considered as emperumAn‘s body, just like one will take care of his body with great desire, emperumAn too takes care of these worlds with great care. nalgi means snEham (with desire) as well as srushti (creation). When the entire creation was in subtle state, who requested him to transform it to gross/manifested state (these worlds etc)? It was out of his own desire he does these. “kAththu” and “aLikkum” both mean protection – these are explained in context of the two meanings of nalgi.
    • When nalgi is considered as snEham – kAththu means anishta nivruththi (removing the unfavourable aspects) and aLikkum means ishta prApthi (fulfilling the favourable aspects).
    • When nalgi is considered as srushti – After creating the worlds, emperumAn sustains them and also consumes them in the end to protect them safely. Here kAththu means samhAram (where he protects everything by absorbing them within himself) and aLikkum means sthithi (sustenance).
  • vinaiyERkE nalgaththAnAgAdhO – (nalgi – srushti) When the worlds were not present (they were in subtle state), you created them. But after creating, we start accumulating karma (good and bad) – should you give up on us citing such karma? (nalgi – snEham) Should you not protect your dependents? When you are protecting everyone, why not protect your spouse (me) as well?
  • nAraNanaik kaNdakkAl – He is the ultimate controller of the existence etc., of all jIvAthmAs. He is the prakAri (substratum) and everything else is prakAram (attributes/forms). Even if one AthmA is not protected, it is a loss to him. This is the meaning of the title “nArAyaNa”. Go and ask him “We thought this name referred to you as per yaugika (etymological meaning) as well as rUdi (general prevalence) meanings. But, is this like cactus having the name ‘mahAvruksha’ (great tree – when it is really neither huge nor useful)?” [The name nArAyaNa is asAdhAraNa (most-distinct) and is only applicable for srIman nArAyaNan or vishNu – no other dhEvathA can claim that name, because only emperumAn fulfills both yaugika and rUdi principles. For example: mahEshwara indicates rudhran by rUdi (general prevalence), but srIman nArAyaNan by yaugika (etymological meaning) since he is the only supreme controller].
  • malgu nIr punal padappai – garden having abundance of water. your action is for the benefit of others…
  • irai thEr – Searching for a prey that is suitable for the female companion. Like it is said in periya thirumozhi 5.1.2 “puLLup piLLaikku irai thEdum” (searching for fish to feed the hatchling) – though big fish are passing by, its waiting for small fish that will fit in the hatchling’s mouth.
  • vaN siRu kurugE – kurugu is vaNdAnam or koyyadinArai (types of stork). vaNmai – beauty, generosity. You are generous unlike emperumAn who is feasting (enjoying) while I am starving (suffering) here in separation. Hopefully, your are not like him.
  • malgu nIrk kaNNERku – My eyes are also filled with water (tears) and they look like beautiful fish (which attract storks). Teary eyes is parAngusa nAyagi‘s identity it seems. While being together, her eyes are filled with joyful tears and in separation they are filled with sorrowful tears.
  • Or vAsagam koNdu – Just pass my message to him. parAngusa nAyagi is fearful of emperumAn rejecting her. But she just wants a reply from him – whether it is yes or no. In siRiya thirumadal, thirumangai AzhwAr says “thArAn tharum enRu iraNdaththil onRadhanai” (he will say yes or no – either way). ANdAL says in nAchchiyAr thirumozhi 13.9 “meymmai solli mugam nOkki vidaidhAn tharumEl miga nanRu” (Even if he looks at me and says “I dont want you”, that is very much acceptable – at least at that time he will look at me and I will try to convince him in other ways). nammAzhwAr himself says in thiruvAimozhi 4.7.3 “pAvi nI enRu onRu sollAy” (Even if you accuse me as a sinner – just open your mouth and speak to me something).
  • aruLAyE – bless me – When she considers herself as sIthA pirAtti, these birds as her messenger and the result they bring is bhagavath vishayam, then she has to speak to these birds respectfully.  bhattar was informed “nambi ERuthiruvudaiyAn dhAsar thirunAttukku nadandhAr” (nambi ERuthiruvudaiyAn dhAsar left/walked to paramapadham). He was startled and then replied “avar srIvaishNavargaLudan parimARumpadikku, thirunAttukku ezhundharuLinAr ennavENum kAN” (for the way he interacted with other srIvaishNavas, you should say ‘he ascended to paramapadham’ in a venerable way) [srIvaishNavas should speak to other srIvaishNavas with great respect/reverence irrespective of their age, birth, wealth, intelligence etc].

In the next article we will enjoy the next pAsuram.

adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan

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