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Other upadhESa raththina mAlai

upadhEsa raththina mAlai – 1

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pAsuram – 1

enthai thiruvAimozhip piLLai innaruLAl
vandha upadhEsa mArkkaththaich chindhai seidhu
pinnavarum kaRka upadhEsamAyp pEsuginREn
manniya seer veNpAvil vaiththu                                    1

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Word by word meaning

enthai – my master
thiruvAimozhip piLLai – that is, thiruvAimozhip piLLai
in(iya) aruLAl – by his sweet/kind distinguished grace,
vandha – what I got (from him)
upadhEsa mArkkaththai – (is) the history of (AchAryas’) teachings;
chindhai seidhu – in thinking of them,
pEsuginREn – I am talking about them
upadhEsamAi – as advice/instructions,
vaiththu – as constructed (in the form of)
manniya – distinguished/well known
seer – greatness
veNpAvil – of vEnpA, a form of thamizh poetry,
pinnavarum – for the generations after me
kaRka – to learn/think/follow.

vyAkyAnam

First pAsuram in this – he is taking a vow to convince the minds of those who listen – I shall bring out in the form of a prabandham the exclusive meanings that came in the lineage of AzhvArs and AchAryas through the grace of my AchAryan thiruvAimozhip piLLai’s teachings, for the future generations to know and attain the goal; by starting with, ‘enthai thiruvAimozhip piLLai’.

That is, he having the name of thirumalai AzhvAr, due to his complete devotion to thiruvAimozhi (prabandham), got the name of thiruvAimozhip piLLai as known throughout the country. mAmunigaL thought about the same and said too as ‘thirumalai AzhvAr thiruvAimozhip piLLai [Arththi prabandham – 21)”. The auspicious meanings the he gave can be fully trusted {thiruvAi?}.

innaruLAl – thiruvAimozhip piLLai tries for my revival (ujjeevanam), due to his causeless mercy (nirhEthuka krupai),

pillailokacharyar-nayanar-thiruvaimozhipillai-mamunigalpiLLai lOkAcharyar, nAyanAr, thiruvAimozhip piLLai, maNavALa mAmunigaL

vandha upadhEsa mArkkaththai – the history of the advice/instructions he gave by coming to do that; combine this phrase with the phrase that comes later, ‘upadhEsamAi pEsuginREn’ (saying/passing on/repeating) those advice/instructions). This is following the words/path of what pUrvAchAryas said (sudhdha sampradhAyam – pure lineage), and not saying whatever came to mind and insisting that to be the truth, as mAmunigAL says in a later pAsuram ‘than nenjil thORRinathE solli, idhu suththa upadhEsapara vArththai enbar [71]’.

So based on the three aforementioned phrases (of the pAsuram?), the association for which he was the target, completeness of true knowledge, and completeness of kindness, are his (mAmunigaL‘s) shelter.

enthai thiruvAimozhip piLLai innaruLAl vandha – As said in ‘thAyAith thanthaiyAi [thiruvAimozhi 2.3.2]’, and ‘annaiyAi aththanAi [kaNNinUNchiruththAmbu – 4]’, he is present as my mother and head. As being present as my father, like how one would squirt out into the floor the excessive breast milk, he as a father showed excessive kindness towards me. Like said in ‘eyiRRidai maN koNda enthai irAppagal Odhuviththu ennai [periyAzhvAr thirumozhi – 5.2.3]’ (~ emperumAn as a father taught me all the time), thinking about the ways that came in the lineage, through the blessings of his natural father-figure thiruvAimozhip piLLai, is how mAmunigAL is doing this upadhEsam (advice/instructions).

That is, as said in ‘vivasvAn manavE prAha manur ikshvAkavE abravIth – Evam paramparA prAptha [bhagavath gIthA – 4-1]’ (~ sUryan taught vaivasvatha manu; manu taught his son ikshvAku), as the pristine way of knowledge (parisudhdha gyAna mArgam) that came in the lineage, is being considered about.

mArkkaththaich chinthai seidhu – think about the ways/history

pinnavarum kaRka – for the future generation that is going to follow his ways, for them to learn to be in the correct ways; for them to learn, properly as said in ‘munnOr mozhindha muRai thappAmal kEttup pinnOrndhu [upadhEsa raththinamAlai – 71] (properly learn what the previous AchAryas have said, and follow/repeat) ’.

That is, as said in ‘neRi uLLi uraiththa [thiruvAimozhi 1.3.5] (~ thought through the correct ways/vEdhas and then explained it), everything that mAmunigaL, who knows everything, says, are like ‘sollum avidu suruthiyAm [gyAna sAram – 40]’ (~whatever is said is the vEdhas), that is, they are of higher reference (pramANa thamam), and are to be reasons for future generations to trust, learn, and follow; he has thought through that and divined this prabandham for us.

{now, the word ‘pEsuginREn’ (saying) is combined with other words of the pAsuram in different interesting ways below, and it brings out the salient thoughts of maNavALa mAmunigaL as he set out to write this prabandham}

upadhEsamAip pEsuginREn – {am saying these as advice} (this prabandham has got) it is the weight of meanings of the topic; this prabandham talks in the range – from those interested in surrendering, up to those who are interested in gaining the acceptance of an AchAryan which is the ultimate state;  these are the topics that it talks about as advice, isn’t it?

When advising the distinguished meanings, as ‘pinnavarum karka upadhEsamAyp pEsuginrEn’, unlike how thiruvAimozhip piLLAi taught him one-on-one (OrAN vazhi), he is saying that he is enriching through this prabandham for all the sentient people to learn and attain the ultimate goal.

sindhai seidhu pEsuginREn –  {am saying these after thinking through} His – ‘yadhvi manasA dhyAyathi thadh vAchA vadhathi [thaiththrIyam AraNyakam 1.23]’ (what he meditates/thinks in his mind, he says that) – is this prabandham.

pEsuginREn manniya seer veNpAvil vaiththu – {am saying these in the form of great veNpA form of thamizh poetry} when doing that (prabandham/advice), he did so in veNpA (thamizh poetry form); that is, there are many poetry forms for thamizh, like veNpa, kaliththuRai, etc. Out of this, the last prabandham (in 4000) that is rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi is based on kaliththurai; this prabandham is based on the metric of veNpA which is simpler for learning – that is how maNavALa mAmunigaL who loves thamizh has divined this prabandham; he is advising only so that others could learn; veNpA is easy to learn in a couple of practices, that simple this form is.

To explain about the adjective ‘seer’ for the vENpA – its greatness is like said in ‘pugazh malindha pA [rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi – 1]’; this is also full of greatness. As said in ‘eNNarum seer poigai munnOr [30]’, this greatness of this prabandham goes well with their (AzhvArs’) greatness; to match that greatness, this prabandham is in the great veNpA.

pEsuginREn – {saying} The meaning said in ‘pEsumaLavanRidhu [periya thirumozhi 2.4.9]’, not being able to tolerate the wrong ways of everyone, I am saying it openly to bring it out in the open; you may listen or avoid, but I would not be able to survive without saying it (as advice/instructions). For those who surrendered, as said in ‘prOvAchathAm thathvathO brahmavidhyAm [muNdakOpanishath 1.2.13]’ (knowledge about brahmam should be taught as is), I am saying the meanings that have to be said – so he is doing this without expecting any request from us – that is the greatness of his kindness isn’t it?

By this we conclude that, like when sarvEsvaran gave AzhvAr unblemished knowledge (mayarvaRA madhinalam), AzhvAr in turn gave that to the village, country, and world for them to be like him, and made them get unblemished knowledge and survive; here maNavALa mAmunigaL also is advising the knowledge he got due to thiruvAimozhip piLLai’s grace, and letting us reach the destiny.

– – –

English Translation: raghurAm srInivAsa dhAsan

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Other upadhESa raththina mAlai

upadhEsa raththina mAlai – avathArikai (Introduction)

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vyAkyAna avathArikai (Introduction)

periya jIyAr is the one who,

  • as said in ‘pinnAnAr vaNangum sOdhi [thirunedunthANdakam – 10]’, is followed by future generations,
  • can be said that he is one of the nithyasUris who would naturally have (without having to strain the mind) subservience, such greatness,
  • took shelter of the divine feet of thiruvAimozhip piLLai,
  • as said in ‘thEvu maRRaRiyEn [kaNNinuN chiruththAmbu – 2 (audio)], was extremely enthusiastic in serving thiruvAimozhip piLLAi,
  • due to his teachings became well versed in thiruvAimozhi and other prabandhams and their meanings which are rahasyams, and stayed thankful,
  • that same piLLai himself told – you hold as your support the divine feet of the one who is the central gem stone of the garland of guru paramparai: that is emperumAnAr – and because of that he (mAmunigaL) possessed extreme devotion toward udaiyavar’s divine feet,
  • having AzhvArs’ and AchAryas’ grace as the potent water for his growth,
  • and so only is having in him, in collective form, the characteristics of nammAzhvAr, thirumangai AzhvAr, periyAzhvAr and others, and also of srIman nAthamunigaL, yAmunAcharyar (ALavandhAr), emperumAnAr and others,
  • is enthusiastic at all times in well-being of the world’s people,
  • due to his nature of considering his purpose as the well-being of others, he is having the greatness of including the meanings of invaluable rahasyams in his prabandhams,
  • it can be said that on his qualities of subservience etc., there is no equal to maNavALa mAmunigaL in the seven material worlds and in the other world, that is ubhaya vibhUthi,
  • having the wealth of rangamangaLam and living in thiruvarangam as ‘thiruvarangam thiruppathiyE iruppAga’,
  • and due to that is known everywhere as ‘kOyil maNavALamamuni’,

he is such a swami, isn’t it?

mamunigal-srirangamkOyil maNavALa mAmuni

jIyar, that is maNavALa mAmunigAL who is having such great qualities, due to his noble kindness, because the incarnations of AzhvArs and AchAryas were in the past, as he said in ‘theruLuRRa AzhvArgaL seermai aRivArAr aruLichcheyalai aRivArAr [upadhEsa rathinamAlai – 36]’ (who would know (not many) the greatness of Azhvars, and their dhivya prabandhams), he saw that the greatness of incarnation of AzhvArs, their words and deeds, were all becoming lesser known, and saw that during that time the devotees were having less knowledge (of sampradhAyam etc.), so he firmly decided – we shall bring out the details of purpose, etc., of incarnation of AzhvArs, what their prabandhams are, and about those who know well both of these, that is, AchAryas – their teachings and actions, starting with all these details, and through that let us get these people to attain the higher plane, and decided that if it is done just by teachings only then it may not be useful for the future generations, as he wanted current and future generations to know these, he then announces such great details through this prabandham as an upadhEsa raththinamAlai, that is, based on the lineage of teachings of prior AchAryas, like a garland; so the name of this dhivya prabandham is upadhEsa raththinamAlai.

Azhvars

Since this prabandham announces the greatness of AzhvArs, AchAryas, and their dhivya prabandhams, it is great among the prabandhams. What is announced in this prabandham is about what thirumanthram says – not being subservient to others but being subservient to emperumAn only, holding emperumAn only as the support, and being enjoyable only by emperumAn – about those having these three qualities. So the base of this prabandham is thirumanthram.

Those who live according to the meanings of thirumanthram is explained in detail in ‘payilum sudaroLi [thiruvAimozhi 3.7]’, ‘nedumArkkadimai [thiruvAimozhi 8.10]’. Following along the same lines is the prabandham ‘kaNNinuN chiruth thAmbu’. Following along the same lines is the prabandham ‘rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi’. The ways of these two prabandhams is explained in this prabandham, since it shows the glory of AzhvArs and of emperumAnAr. So this prabandham is the ultimate stage in the ultimate stage.

srivaishna-guruparamparai

Now, an analysis of the reason/justification for this prabandham to follow the thirunakshathrams (birth stars) of the AzhvArs among the noble ones mentioned in this prabandham is:

As emperumAn wished to get the quality of being an AchAryan, he provided bhagavath gIthA and abhaya pradhAnam (shelter/refuge) and he is considered as the first guru; to save the samsAris, what He incarnates in other sects in stars such as rOhiNi, punarvasu (punarpUsam), what in the months of chaithra (chiththirai), bhadra (purattAsi), etc., what in places like vada (north) mathurA, ayOdhyA that are near the rivers yamunA and sarayU; starting with these the details are mentioned in ithihAsam etc.; In the same vain, here too, the AzhvArs who incarnated to save the people, and got unblemished knowledge due to His causeless mercy, their birth stars and months which are great ones like sravaNa (thiruvONam), etc., and months of ashvina (aippasi) etc., in places like kAnchi that are talked as equivalent of ayOdhyA, mathurA, and near their places are rivers like kAviri (cauvEry) – all these are indicated in those ithihAsams as ‘kalaukalu bhavishyanthi’(would incarnate in kali yugam),and as ‘kvachith kvachith [bhAgavatham 11-5.38]’ (in there and there (places));

moreover, due to the greatness of getting unblemished knowledge AzhvArs were immersed in devotion and performed saraNAgathy (surrender), due to His wish they incarnated as 10 of them as an aspect of emperumAn and with full of devotion; as He is present in the dhivya dhEsams in archA form out of his love, they have also taken the befitting form, and are having dharsan of Him; and are giving dharsan to others; due to our connection with them, they are able to make us reach the destiny;

so these AzhvArs’ thirunakshathrams also can be celebrated equally;

Now, starting from ‘AzhvAr thirumagaLAr ANdAL [upadhEsa raththinamAlai]’, since the other three (ANdAL, madhurakavi AzhvAr, and emperumAnAr) are subservient to the other AzhvArs, and since they are much more glorious than other AzhvArs, it goes well to enumerate these nobles ones’ incarnation details along with the other AzhvArs. Since AchAryas understand and celebrate the glory of the aforementioned, they too are celebrated.

Now, the prabandham talks about the glories of those who are in the first stage of devotion like ‘vERAga Eththi iruppAr [nAnmugan thiruvanthAdhi 18]’ (those who praise emperumAn in amazing distinguished ways), that is, devotion towards emperumAn; and about the glories of those who are in the pinnacle stage of devotion like ‘maRRavaraich chARRi iruppAr [nAnmugan thiruvanthAdhi 18]’(~ those who depend on devotees), that is, devotion towards AchAryan, and about the greatness of their prabandhams, and about the ways of the rahasya granthams which provide the essence of the above two categories, and about the anushtAnams (deeds/actions) explained in such granthams, and ways of being firmly positioned under the divine feet of AchAryan, that is, charama parva nishtai; this prabandham also explains how those who are involved in the prabandham reached the goal of srIvaikuNtam by the grace of those who spread the path of prapaththi by advices and corresponding actions;

and so this prabandham completes the exclusive meanings, which are shown firmly, and by advising others; and by talking about the glory of this guru paramparai, the head of gurus that is maNavALa mAmunigaL helps by making everyone have connection with the guru paramparai to reach the ultimate state.

– – – –

English Translation: raghurAm srInivAsa dhAsan

archived in http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org

pramEyam (goal) – http://koyil.org
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srIvaishNava education/kids portal – http://pillai.koyil.org

gadhya thrayam Other SaraNAgathi gadhyam

SaraNAgathi gadhyam – 1st chUrNai

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namperumal-nachiar_serthi2

emperumanar

avathArikai (introduction)

This chUrNai is considered to be the explanation for dhvayam. While SrIman nArAyaNa is supposed to grant all boons (sakala phalapradhO hi vishNu – vishNu dharmam), why surrender first to pirAtti (SrI mahAlakshmi)? Just as a son who has left home for several years, when he returns, he goes first to his mother and seeks her acceptance before meeting his father, SrI rAmAnuja feels that he should first get pirAtti to hear him out. Moreover, isn’t she “suhrudham sarvabhUthAnAm” (bhagavath gIthA – one who thinks well for all beings)? In both her eyes, she has “chandran” (i.e. she has only affection) while emperumAn has anger in one eye (“sUryan”) and affection (“chandran”) in the other. When SrI rAmAnuja approaches nArAyaNa, what if nArAyaNa looks at him with anger, considering his past deeds? He thus feels it is safer to surrender to her first. With her blessings, he even gets the courage to ask SrIman nArAyaNa to forgive him, later on.

chUrNai

Om bhagavannArAyanAbhimathAnurUpa svarUparUpaguNavibhavaiSvarya SeelAdhyanavadhikAthiSaya asankhyEya kalyANa  guNagaNAm, padhmavanAlayam, bhaghavathIm, Sriyam dhEvIm, nithyAnapAyinIm, niravadhyAm, dhEvadhEvadhivyamahishIm, akhila jaganmAtharam asmanmAtharam aSaraNya SaraNyAm ananya SaraNa: SaraNamaham prapadhyE

Word-by-Word meaning

bhagavan – one who possesses six essential qualities (gyAna bala aiSvarya vIrya Sakthi thEjas, which will be explained further in detail)

nArAyaNa – the residing place for all beings, both sentient and insentient

abhimatha – being liked by SrIman nArAyaNa

anurUpa – having same physical beauty as SrIman nArAyaNa

svarUpa – natural characteristics (will be explained later)

rUpa – physical beautiful form

guNa – many good qualities

vibhava – possessing wealth unimaginable

aiSvarya – ability to direct or control other beings

Seela – quality that makes one not to look at the defects of followers

Adhi – etc., (many more such qualities)

anavadhika – never reducing

athiSaya – wondrous

asankhyEya – countless

kalyANa guNa gaNAm – possessing hordes of very good qualities

padhma vanAlayAm – having a forest of lotus as seat, to sit on

bhagavathIm – possessing the 6 qualities mentioned for bhagavAn (gyAna bala aiSvarya vIrya Sakthi thEjas)

Sriyam – being “SrI” (mahAlakshmi, explained later)

dhEvIm – possessing luminous power

nithyAnapAyinIm – never leaving SrIman nArAyaNa

niravadhyAm – without any fault; possessing these qualities not for enhancing herself, but for the well being of followers

dhEvadhEva dhivya mahishIm – being the royal queen of the king of all dhEvas

akhila jagan mAtharam – being the mother of all worldly beings

asman mAtharam – being my mother too (as a special quality)

aSaraNya SaraNa: – one who has nowhere else to go to and thus surrenders

SaraNam aham prapadhyE – such a person, adiyEn (servant such as I), surrenders unto you

Explanatory Note (detailed vyAkhyAnam)

bhagavan nArAyana – The term bhagavAn refers to all the desired qualities to be possessed, without any defect. Of the innumerable qualities, 6 important qualities are highlighted – gyAna, bala aiSvarya vIrya Sakthi thEjas (knowledge, strength, control, energy or vigour, power and radiance respectively). SrIman nArAyaNan  performs three major roles – destroyer, creator and protector. For each of these three roles, two qualities are most important. For his role as destroyer, he needs to have gyAna and bala. gyAna (knowledge) is required to ensure that when AthmAs leave their physical bodies in which they were residing during their stay on earth, they carry with them all the karma and sUkshma bhUthams (the five sensory perceptions), and to ensure that there is no mix-up between the deeds and the AthmAs. bala (strength) is needed to take in the entire universe during praLayam (total destruction, at the end of brahmA’s day time).

For his role of creator, he needs aiSvarya (control) and vIrya (energy) -aiSvarya here does not only denote wealth, but mainly the ability to appoint, direct and lead the AthmA in its journey. vIrya is the ability of emperumAn not to get enervated after creating the universe. He does not even sweat after such a humongous task. That is vIrya.

For his role as protector, he needs Sakthi and thEjas – Sakthi (power) to protect the devotees from their enemies and thEjas (radiance) to ensure that enemies can not come anywhere near him to harm him when protecting his devotees.

nArAyaNa – refers to his role to provide residing place for all sentient and insentient beings. While the term bhagavAn may be used to refer to some others also as a matter of respect (for example vyAsa bhagavAn, nArada bhagavAn et al), the term nArAyaNan refers only to him, both as a conventional usage of the term and as the meaning of the term from the composition of words. nArA: refers to the collection of groups of all living beings (many species of animals, many species of plants, many species of human beings, etc) and ayana means resting place. When the two words combine, as per pANiNi’s grammar, the combination is spelt as nArAyaNan which refers to SrIman nArAyaNan only. Thus the words bhagavan nArAyaNan refer to the Lord with all the great qualities and the possessor of the two vibhUthis (nithya vibhUthi, or SrIvaikuNtam [spiritual realm] and leelA vibhUthi or samsAram [material realm]).

One may ask, why should SrI rAmAnuja talk about nArAyaNan when he is about to surrender to pirAtti? Just as a source of water is required for cultivating land and a bund (embankment) is required for a lake, it is necessary to give the basis for pirAtti’s many great qualities and her great wealth. Just as we say SrIman while referring to nArAyaNan, we also say vishNu pathni (wife of vishNu) while referring to SrI mahAlakshmi. To understand the greatness of pirAtti, we need to know the greatness of perumAL.

abhimatha anurUpa – pirAtti is liked by him always and her beauty is appropriate to his. In our normal lives, we would see couples who are both good looking or who are both having good qualities. Only in the case of dhivya dhampathi can we see both the qualities in both of them, i.e. abhimatham and anurUpam. What is liked by either of them in the other and what is appropriate in each to the other are explained by the subsequent terms.

svarUpa rUpa guNa vibhava aiSvarya SeelAdhi – that is, her svarUpam is liked by him and his svarUpam is liked by her. Similar is the case with every quality or characteristic. When rAvaNa showed the severed head of SrI rAma to sIthA and indhrajith similarly showed the severed head of sIthA to SrI rAma, they were stunned initially but knew that it was false. This was because of the svarUpam that was liked by each in the other. In the case of rUpam too, each is  appropriate to the other. Their physical beauty complements each other.

guNa here refers to the characteristics of the physical form – qualities such as saundharyam (beautiful in specific aspects of the thirumEni (body)), lAvaNyam (beautiful in overall aspects of the thirumEni/form) etc. pirAtti uses these qualities to make SrIman nArAyaNan to look at us with kindness and to forgive our transgressions, and thus these qualities are dear to him.

vibhava means wealth. If she is the word, he is the meaning. The two are inseparable. All that is masculine  has his stamp and all that is feminine has hers. Her possessions are very dear to him and are not like the wealth that he possesses (garland, sandal paste, parrot etc).

aiSvarya – ability to direct or lead or control others. She controls the three types of chEthanas (sentients) such as badhdhAthma (still bonded to samsAram, like us), mukthAthmA (those who have got liberated from here and reached SrIvaikuNtam) and nithyAthmA (those who are always in SrIvaikuNtam and never take birth here like us) through their karma (in the case of badhdhAthmA), svarUpAnurUpam (being sEshabhUthan and pArathanthriyan, in the case of mukthAthmA and nithyAthma) and she also controls SrIman nArAyaNan through her love and affection by reminding him about his role as a protector and that he has to grant mOksham to the bhadhdhAthmA when he surrenders. perumAL feels happy when she undertakes this role as it is said that for an uththama purusha (highest level of AthmA) he is expected to listen to his pathni (consort). What has been said about aiSvarya is applicable to other qualities such as gyAna bala vIrya, Sakthi and thEjas.

Seela – a quality that does not look at the shortcomings or defects in followers; person at a higher level moving with people of lower ranks, treating them as equals; she is equal to him in her practices and rituals. perumAL in his avathAram as SrI rAma, made common cause with persons such as guha (boatman), sugrIva (a monkey king) and vibhIshaNa (a rAkshasa). Similarly pirAtti as sIthA was very friendly towards the rAkshasis who were troubling her no end to make her yield to rAvaNa’s wishes. She also spoke to rAvaNa asking him to make friendship with SrI rAmA if he wants to be alive. She did not hesitate to advise him even though he was much inferior to her. This quality is very much liked by perumAL as this is a role that he too plays often (of being a protector).

Adhi – this means starting from the above-mentioned qualities, there are many more such qualities that pirAtti has. It may be possible to speak about perumAL’s qualities, but it is impossible to speak about her qualities, says the vyAkyAthA, periyavAchchAn piLLai.

anavadhikAthiSaya – each of the above mentioned qualities is unlimited in terms of expanse and is also wondrous.

aSankhyEya – countless qualities

kalyANa guna ganAm – these qualities are also auspicious in nature. These qualities, found in perumAL also, complement each other. One may even find a fault in perumAL‘s qualities – that he is totally independent (swAthanthriyam) but none can find any fault in pirAtti’s qualities. His svAthanthriyam would make him angry when he sees us committing mistakes but she converts the mistakes also into good deeds. And, the qualities are in abundant quantities.

padhmavanAlayAm –  this refers to auspicious qualities. She gives sweet fragrance to perumAL himself, who is referred to as “sarva gandha:” (epitome of all fragrances). This also refers to her being sweet to perumAL and as being a source of enjoyment.

bhagavathIm – she too possesses the 6 qualities mentioned for bhagavan earlier in this explanatory note. She is someone who even bhagavAn would be glad to perform pUjA (worship). Taken together, the two terms padhmavanAlayAm bhagavathIm would mean that if devotees approach bhagavAn through her, she would ensure that bhagavAn would not mind the shortcomings in the devotees and would grant them their desires (mainly mOksham) through her sweetness.

Sriyam – while everything else in the world takes shelter under her, she takes shelter under him. She controls everything and she is controlled by him. However the two are inseparable, just like a gem and its powerful rays or flower and its fragrance. Sriyam is derived from SrI: which means that she is the leader of everything else and in turn is led by him; she hears our plights and in turn makes him listen; she cuts off all our past misdemeanours and enables us to reach him.

dhEvIm – full of radiance.

nithyAnapAyinIm – always dwells with him, and is inseparable from him just as it says in vishNu purANam “vishNor SrIranapAyinIm”.

niravadhyAm – without any defect; in other words, if all the qualities mentioned so far have been with her for her own sake, that would be considered as a defect or shortcoming. But if these qualities are there for bringing succour to her followers, then they are said to be defect-free.

dhEvadhEva dhivya mahishIm – being the queen for the Lord of all the dhEvathAs; i.e. being pirAtti (consort) to perumAL.

akhilajaganmAtharam – being the mother to all the beings (all the three types of AthmAs). She lives for the well-being of everyone.

asman mAtharam – SrI rAmAnuja considers himself as one of the beings, but a little bit special and hence makes a separate mention of pirAtti being his mother too.

aSaraNya SaraNyAm – being the last resort for those who have nowhere else to go. She overlooks all our shortcomings if we display a little bit of good quality. On occasions, even if we do not have an iota of good quality, she still overlooks all our shortcomings. emperumAn is normally the last resort for those who have nowhere else to go. In the case of persons for  whom even perumAn is not approachable, she functions as the last resort.

ananyaSaraNa: aham – Is there anyone for  whom there is nowhere else to go? asks pirAtti. SrI rAmAnuja says that “aham” (I am) is that person.

SaraNam prapadhyE – such a person who has nowhere else to go and who has approached you, now surrenders  to your lotus feet as a means, claims SrI rAmAnuja in this last phrase of the first chUrNai.

We shall now proceed to the second chUrNai.

Translation by krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan.

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Other upadhESa raththina mAlai

upadhEsa raththina mAlai – thaniyan

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thaniyan – divined by kOyil kandhAdai aNNan

in ‘kattaLaik kalith thuRai’ (name of a particular form of thamizh poetry)

munnam thiruvAimozhippiLLai thAm upadhEsiththa nEr
thannin padiyaith thaNavAdha sol maNavALamuni
than anbudan sey upadhEsa raththinamAlai thannaith
than nenju thannil tharippavar thALgaL charaN namakkE

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Word by word meaning:

munnam – earlier
thiruvAimozhip piLLai thAm, upadhEsiththa – he had divinely advised/instructed
nEr thannin – the meanings of thathvam (true knowledge);
thaNavAdha – he follows without fail, always thinks and follows
padiyai – those ways,
maNavALa mAmuni – (such ) srI maNavALa mAmunigaL
than – out of his
anbudan – love/kindness toward the well-being of the world,
sey – divined
upadhEsa raththinamAlai – the prabandham with such title (instructions put together to form a garland of precious stones), its exclusive meanings
tharippavar – those who bear it
tham nenju thannil – in their mind;
thALgaL – such people’s divine feet,
charaN – it is the place to surrender
namakku – for us.

Simple meaning:

{This thaniyan is written by kOyil kandhAdai aNNan who is a disciple of maNavALa mAmunigaL. Remembering about maNavALa mAmunigaL‘s deep respect and affection towards his AchAryan, aNNan has started the thaniyan with the name of that AchAryan, which would have very much pleased maNavALa mAmunigaL, which would have been the very goal of aNNan.}

srI maNavALa mAmunigaL, due to his love and care towards the well-being of everyone in the world, divined to us the prabandham called upadhEsa raththina mAlai, based on the teachings earlier of his AchAryan thiruvAimozhip piLLai, which mAmunigaL always thinks about and follows. Those who make the extra-ordinary meanings of this prabandham to strongly stay in their mind – their divine feet is the place for us to be.

ramanujar-srisailesa-mamunigalemperumAnAr – thiruvAimozhip piLLai – maNavALa mAmunigaL

koilannankOyil kandhAdai aNNan

– – – – –

English Translation: raghurAm srInivAsa dhAsan

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Other upadhESa raththina mAlai

upadhESa raththina mAlai

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Introduction

Sriya:pathi that is sarvEsvaran, gave vEdhas, and also incarnated in this material world to help people reach Him in SrIvaikuNtam. To effect his wishes he further made AzhvArs to incarnate. Those twelve AzhwArs gave us 4000 dhivya prabandhams. To spread their word and to live and show the ways, He got AchAryas incarnated. The AchAryas (SrIman nAthamunigaL et al) propagated along with its meanings the dhivya prabandhams, and also wrote additional granthams to explain the sampradhAyam.

The last of such AchArya guru paramparai is maNavALa mAmunigaL. While living in thiruvarangam, he authored upadhEsa raththina mAlai which explained the meanings of rAmAnuja dharsanam which came through upadhEsam (~teaching/advising) by earlier AchAryas of the guru paramparai.

In upadhEsa raththinamAlai, maNavALa mAmunigaL shows us the auspicious days when AzhvArs incarnated, their divine places of birth, about the vyAkyAnams for their prabandhams created by various AchAryas, and about the greatness of an AchAryan. As part of that he devotes a lot of pAsurams to tell us about the greatness of piLLai lOkAcharyar‘s rahasya grantham, that is, SrI vachana bhUshaNam. Finally he dedicates this to emperumAnAr by saying that those who recite and hold its meanings in their mind would get the grace of emperumAnAr.

His sishya (disciple) kOyil kandhAdai aNNan spread the importance of this prabandham. He wrote the thaniyan for upadhEsa raththinamAlai.

maNavALa mAmunigaL wished to write 74 pAsurams in upadhEsa raththinamAlai to match with the number of simhAsanAdhipathis established by emperumAnAr for spreading the dharsanam, but stopped one short of that. Another sishya of maNavALa mAmunigaL by name eRumbi appA wrote a pAsuram which is recited as the last pAsuram (74th) of this prabandham.

mamunigal-srirangammaNavALa mAmunigaL as giving divine dharshan at SrIrangam

It would be good to note that upadhEsa raththinamAlai has also been written in samskritham by mAmunigaL’s (pUrvAsrama) divine grand son, jIyar nAyanAr.

piLLailOkam jIyar has written vyAkyAnam (meanings) for this prabandham, in the style of maNipravALam (mixed words of thamizh and samskritham). This along with padha urai (meanings for phrases) has been published by SrI sudharsanam trust, puththUr, and SrIvaishNavaSrI, SrIrangam, with the review of the padha urai etc., by SrImadh u.vE. thirumalai nallAn chakravarththi krishNamAchArya swAmy, and others.

pillailokam-jeeyarpiLLailOkam jIyar

SrImAn u.vE mAdapUsi varadharAjan swami has written a book, “upadhEsa raththinamAlai – piLLai lOkam jIyar aruLiya vyAkyAnamum, thamizhAkkamum” (original vyAkyAnam and thamizh translation).  It provides meanings in simple thamizh for the maNipravALa vyAkyAnam of piLLia lOkam jIyar, and also adds more text and references with the help of the swamis that the author has mentioned in his published book.

{About the swAmis mentioned in the above book:

Sri u.vE. P.B. AnnangarAcharyar and Sri U.Ve. SrI vaishNava sudharsanar krishNaswamy have collected the references from vEdham etc., for many of the samskritha slOkas found in the vyAkyAnam. Additional references have been quoted by SrImAn u.vE thirunArAyaNapuram araiyar srIrAma sarmA, and SrI u.vE. satakOpAchArya swami (in his very old age of 90) helped in getting their meanings. SrIrangam gOmatam SrImAn u.vE. sampath kumArAchArya swami also provided Akarams for the references.
}

We are using the aforementioned books as the valuable sources for this translation into English.

Please write to us to correct any mistakes in our understanding and in our translation.

maNavALa mAmunigaL vaibhavam can be read here.

piLLai lOkam jIyar’s vaibhavam can be read here.

– – – – – –

– – – – – –

English Translation: raghurAm srInivAsa dhAsan

archived in http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org

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gadhya thrayam Other SaraNAgathi gadhyam

SaraNAgathi gadhyam – pravESam (Introduction)

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thaniyans

namperumal-nachiar_serthi

Highlights from periyavAchchAn piLLai‘s vyAkhyAnam

srI rAmAnuja had expounded on bhakthi yOgam (path of bhakthi or devotion) in his treatise srI bhAshyam, to attain mOksham (liberation from materialistic realm) . This was meant to counter the hypothesis put forward by kudrishtis (those who give wrong interpretation of the vEdhas) who had said that only gyAna yOgam (path of knowledge) would lead to mOksham. srI rAmAnuja was concerned that his followers would also think that bhakthi yOgam only would liberate them from this samsAram (materialistic realm) and would follow that to attain mOksham.

In SaraNAgathi gadhyam, he emphasises on saraNAgathi (surrendering to srIman nArAyaNan) as a path to attain mOksham. One may ask, if saraNAgathi is the path to mOksham, why then did he not expound this in his srI bhAshyam to counter the kudhrishtis? The reason for this is that just as a brAhmaNa can not teach vEdha to a chathurtha varNika (4th class of people), one can not let out the sacred, rahasya (secretive) meanings of SaraNAgathi to everyone openly.

In what way is SaraNAgathi superior to bhakthi yOgam as a means for attaining mOksham?

  • bhakthi is limited to thraivarNikas (persons belonging to the first three varNas, viz., brAhmaNa, kshathriya and vaisya and even in these three classes, the males only) whereas SaraNAgathi can be carried out by anyone without any distinction.
  • bhakthi is a difficult method to follow while SaraNAgathi is very simple.
  • bhakthi gives results after the person who follows it exhausts all his prArabdha karmas (karmas, or deeds, are of two types, sanchita and prArabdha; sanchita karma is the sum total of all the karmas that the jIvAthmA (soul) had earned while being born repeatedly. prArabdha is that which God takes out as a portion from the full bundle of sanchita and lets the jIvAthmA to complete in a set of births in its term in the samsAram following the pApa / sin and puNya / virtue karmas with which it was sent to this earth). SaraNAgathi yields results in the same birth in which the AthmA had performed SaraNAgathi.
  • While following the path of bhakthi, one has to be very careful in not transgressing what is told in vEdhas. However that is not the case with SaraNAgathi as it is very simple to perform. One has to take lot of efforts to carry out bhakthi while in the case of SaraNAgathi, it is readily available for practicing.
  • bhakthi is not synchronous with the svarUpam (characteristics or basic nature) of AthmA while SaraNAgathi is. In other words, the svarUpam of AthmA is to be subservient (sEshabhUthan) to SrIman nArAyANan as well as to be dependent (pArathanthriyan) on him and these are fulfilled while following SaraNAgathi whereas bhakthi is attained through the self-efforts of AthmA which is not the svarUpam of AthmA.
  • And, bhakthi is not a match for the result which is attained while SaraNAgathi is.

SaraNAgathi is also mentioned in vEdhAntha. In yAgyikIya upanishad, twelve different characteristics are mentioned for a jIvAthmA and the highest place among the twelve is given to SaraNAgathi. It has been followed by pUrvAchAryas also and is dear to the heart of SrIman nArAyaNan. Thus, being acceptable to vEdhAntha, being aligned to the swarUpam of jIvAthma, having been followed by AzhwArs and pUrvAchAryas and being close to the heart of SrIman nArAyaNan, made srI rAmAnuja to expound it so that his followers would also be benefited by it.

He chose the panguni uthram day for performing SaraNAgathi when namperumAL and ranganAchchiyAr were seated next to each other. All the hurdles of samsAram were constantly going through in his mind and in order to get rid of these, he surrendered to the divya dhampathi. He had performed SaraNAgathi earlier when he took samAsrayaNam under his AchAryA periya nambi. While SaraNAgathi is to be performed only once, why did srI rAmAnuja perform it a second time? It was because of the fear that the samsAram was creating as well as the strong urge to be with God soon. Even AzhwArs performed SaraNAgathi repeatedly (nammAzhwAr did it 5 times and thirumangai AzhwAr, 10 times). Same is the case with AchAryas too. Hence in order to get rid of samsAram and to reach SrIvaikuNtam to perform kainkaryams (service) to the dhivya dhampathi he carried out SaraNAgathi.

We shall now move on to the 1st chUrNai of this treatise.

Translation by krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan.

archived in http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org

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gadhya thrayam Other SaraNAgathi gadhyam

SaraNAgathi gadhyam – thaniyan

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 ramanujar-periyavachanpillaisrI rAmAnuja – periyavAchchAn piLLai

periyavAchchAn piLLai’s thaniyan (we are including this to show our gratitude towards him for his commentary)

srImath krishNa samAhvAya namO yAmuna sUnavE
yath katAkshaika lakshyANam sulabha: srIdharas sadhA

Meaning: I worship periyavAchchAn piLLai who is the son of yAmunar and whose katAksham (graceful glance) will make emperumAn sriman nArAyanan‘s grace fall on us very easily.

thaniyan for saraNAgathi gadhyam

vandhE vEdhAntha karpUra chAmIkara karandakam
rAmAnujAryamAryANAm chUdAmaNimaharnisham

Meaning: I worship day and night, srI rAmAnuja, who is considered as the crown-jewel among all AchAryas, and who is like the golden chest that protects the camphor-like fragrance of vEdhAntha, retaining its sweet fragrance.

Translation by krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan.

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gadhya thrayam Other SaraNAgathi gadhyam

SaraNAgathi gadhyam

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bhagavath SrI rAmAnuja wrote 9 masterpieces – SrI bhAshyam, vEdhAntha sAram, vEdhAntha dhIpam, vEdhArtha sangraham, gIthA bhAshyam, nithya grantham, SaraNAgathi gadhyam, SrIranga gadhyam and SrIvaikuNta gadhyam.

The first three are related to brahma sUthram, the fourth deals with selected verses from vEdhAntham, the fifth is a vyAkyAnam on bhagavadh gIthA and the sixth deals with the daily rituals (specifically thiruvArAdhanam) to be carried out by srIvaishNavas.

The last three are the lifeline of our sidhdhAntham – They are a very lucid explanation to the swarUpam of SaraNAgathi and how to observe it. gadhyam means prosaic and thrayam means three. Since there are three gadhyams in this series, collectively they are called us gadhyathrayam. Our pUrvAchAryas gave lot of prominence to the three gadhyams. It is for this reason that even those who do not have the ability to grasp the meanings of the other granthams, should learn about these three gadhyams from their AchAryas. In this fast world, sometimes it may be difficult for the AchAryas to teach the meanings fully to their disciples. Hence an attempt is being made to explain the features of the three gadhyams through this series of articles.

namperumal-nachiyar-serthi  srIranga nAchchiyAr and srIranganAthan – srIrangam

ramanuja-srirangam SrI rAmAnuja – SrIrangam

SrI rAmAnuja chose the panguni uthram day, which is the thirunakshathram for periya pirAttiyAr at srI rangam, to surrender himself to the dhivya dhampathi and thus showed the way for his  disciples to follow. It is on this day that both SrIranganAthan and SrIranga nAchchiyAr share one simhAsanam (throne) and bless the thronging devotees. It is the only day when the dhivya dhampathi sit next to each other, in the whole year. With SrIranga nAchchiyAr by his side, SrIranganAthan sheds his tough stance and softens up to the devotees. Hence SrI rAmAnuja chose this day.

Initially he surrenders to periya pirAttiyAr, then to namperumAL. This is expounded in SaraNAgathi gadhyam. Then he recites srIranga gadhyam, which is specially devoted to namperumAL at srI rangam. In the third gadhyam (SrIvaikuNta gadhyam) he describes the features of SrIvaikuNtam so that the prapannan (the person who performs the act of prapaththi or SaraNAgathi) would know the importance of the place where he would go to, on attaining mOksham (liberation from samsAram or materialistic realm).

periyavachan-pillaiperiyavAchchAn piLLai

The meanings that are being attempted here are based on the vyAkhyAnam of paramakAruNikar, srI periyavAchchAn piLLai. There are 23 chUrNais in SaraNAgathi gadhyam (a chUrNai can be taken roughly as a paragraph). We shall give the meanings of words in each chUrNai and then give an overall summary of what SrI rAmANuja has conveyed in it, through periyavAchchAn piLLai’s vyAkyAnam. We are also thankful to vELukkudi SrI u vE krishNan swamy’s kAlakshEpam series which is of great help in understanding the wonderful vyAkhyAnam of periyavAchchAn piLLai.

We will start seeing the English translation for this wonderful grantham.

Translation by krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

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thiruvAimozhi thiruvAimozhi 2nd centum

thiruvAimozhi – 2.1.11 – sOrAdha epporutkum

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Full series >> Second Centum >> First decad

Previous pAsuram

parankusanayaki-azhwarthirunagari

Introduction for this pAsuram

Highlights from thirukkurukaippirAn piLLAn‘s introduction

No specific introduction.

Highlights from nanjIyar‘s introduction

In the end, AzhwAr says “those who learned this decade will eternally live in paramapadham; this is certain”.

Highlights from vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s introduction

Subsequently, AzhwAr mercifully says that the result of (learning) this decad is the attainment of paramapadham.

Highlights from periyavAchchAn piLLai‘s introduction

See nanjIyar‘s introduction.

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

In the end – AzhwAr says “Those who learned this decad, instead of staying in samsAram (material realm) where everything that is visible is suffering in separation from bhagavAn, will enter paramapadham (spiritual realm) where everyone who is visible is blissfully living in union with bhagavAn”.

pAsuram

சோராத எப் பொருட்கும் ஆதியாம் சோதிக்கே
ஆராத காதல் குருகூர்ச் சடகோபன்
ஓராயிரம் சொன்ன அவற்றுள் இவை பத்தும்
சோரார் விடார் கண்டீர் வைகுந்தம் திண்ணனவே

sOrAdha ep porutkum AdhiyAm sOdhikkE
ArAdha kAdhal kurukUrch chatakOpan
OrAyiram sonna avaRRuL ivai paththum
sOrAr vidAr kaNdIr vaikundham thiNNanavE

Listen

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

sOrAdha – without leaving out even a single entity
epporutkum – for all entities
AdhiyAm – being the cause
sOdhikkE – one who is known by the term “paramjyOthi” [supreme effulgence]
ArAdha – insatiable
kAdhal – having affection
kurukUrch chatakOpan – nammAzhwAr
Or – unique
Ayiram – in thousand pAsurams,
sonna avaRRuL – among those which are spoken
ivai paththum – these 10 pAsurams (which are filled with great love)
sOrAr – ones who stick to (these pAsurams)
vaikundham – that paramapadham
thiNNana – certainly
vidAr kaNdIr – those who will never miss it

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

Those who stick to these ten pAsurams amongst the unique thousand pAsurams which are spoken by AzhwAr who has insatiable affection towards bhagavAn who is known as paramjyOthi and who is the cause of everything, will certainly never miss to reach paramapadham.

vyAkyAnams (commentaries)

Highlights from thirukkurukaippirAn piLLAn‘s vyAkyAnam

See vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s translation.

Highlights from nanjIyar‘s vyAkyAnam

See nampiLLai‘s vyAkyAnam.

Highlights from periyavAchchAn piLLai‘s vyAkyAnam

See nampiLLai‘s vyAkyAnam.

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

  • sOrAdha epporutkum AdhiyAm sOdhikkE – For descending upto AzhwAr and helping AzhwAr sustain himself, bhagavAn is highlighted as the Iswara (controller) of all and because of bonding with AzhwAr, he became radiant [jyOthi]. Before bonding with AzhwAr, his sarvESwarathvam (being the controller of all) seemed to have disappeared. If emperumAn fails AzhwAr, then his sarvESwarathvam will completely vanish. But, after bonding with AzhwAr to the full satisfaction of AzhwAr, he becomes controller of all.
  • sOdhikkE – Instead of considering the loss/gain as AzhwAr‘s, bhagavAn considers fulfilling AzhwAr’s desires as his own gain and not doing so is his own loss – so after AzhwAr’s desire was fulfilled, bhagavAn‘s form became radiant [out of happiness]. He became as explained in samkshEpa rAmAyaNam “… kruthakruthya: …” (After crowning vibhIshaNa as the king of lankA, srI rAma felt as one who has performed all his duties and one who was relieved from fever).
  • ArAdha kAdhal – It is explained in this decad – AzhwAr‘s great affection towards emperumAn, which makes him think that all the entities he sees are suffering in separation from emperumAn like he himself is going through.
  • kAdhal kurukUrch chatakOpan – AzhwAr is identified by his love/affection [krishNa thrushNA thathvam]. Only he himself can explain his nature.
  • sonna – He spoke thiruvAimozhi with this great love.
  • avaRRuL ivai paththum – if we compare this decad with the rest of thiruvAimozhi, this decad reveals AzhwAr‘s love fully (unlike other decads).
  • ivai paththum sOrAr vidAr kaNdIr vaikundham – those who suffered here for all entities which were seen that they are suffering in separation, will give up this place and reach paramapadham where every visible person is fully and joyfully engaging with bhagavAn and eternally be blissful there. By saying “kaNdIr“, AzhwAr is raising his hands and showing “see for yourself”.
  • thiNNanavE – this is most-certain; if we say something based on the matters/persons of this material realm, there is room for doubt, but when it is said based on bhagavAn‘s abilities/greatness, there is no doubt.

From the first pAsuram, AzhwAr grieved for crane, ibis, sea, wind, cloud, moon, darkness, salt-pan, oil-lamp and became very week. At that time, emperumAn arrives there and AzhwAr says to him “Never leave me hereafter” and explains the result for those who learned this decad.

AzhwAr thiruvadigaLE charaNam
emperumAnAr thiruvadigaLE charaNam
piLLAn thiruvadigaLE charaNam
nanjIyar thiruvadigaLE charaNam
nampiLLai thiruvadigaLE charaNam
vadakkuth thiruvIdhip piLLai thiruvadigaLE charaNam
periyavAchchAn piLLai thiruvadigaLE charaNam
vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar thiruvadigaLE charaNam
jIyar thiruvadigaLE charaNam

In the next article we will enjoy the next decad.

adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan

archived in http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org

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thiruvAimozhi thiruvAimozhi 2nd centum

thiruvAimozhi – 2.1.10 – vEvArA vEtkainOy

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

Full series >> Second Centum >> First decad

Previous pAsuram

srirama-separation

Introduction for this pAsuram

Highlights from thirukkurukaippirAn piLLAn‘s introduction

No specific introduction.

Highlights from nanjIyar‘s introduction

In the tenth pAsuram – On seeing emperumAn who united with her to remove her fatigue, parAnkusa nAyaki prays to him “You should never leave me”.

Highlights from vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s introduction

Subsequently, emperumAn who is sarvakAraNabhUthan (the cause of all) arrives there on seeing parAnkusa nAyaki‘s suffering and parAnkusa nAyaki prays to him “you should never leave me”.

Highlights from periyavAchchAn piLLai‘s introduction

See nanjIyar‘s introduction.

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

See nanjIyar‘s introduction.

pAsuram

வேவு ஆரா வேட்கை நோய் மெல் ஆவி உள் உலர்த்த
ஓவாது இராப் பகல் உன்பாலே வீழ்த்து ஒழிந்தாய்
மா வாய் பிளந்து மருதிடை போய் மண் அளந்த
மூவா முதல்வா! இனி எம்மைச் சோரேலே

vEvu ArA vEtkai nOy mel Avi uL ularththa
OvAdhu irAp pagal unpAlE vIzhththu ozhindhAy
mA vAy piLandhu marudhidai pOy maN aLandha
mUvA mudhalvA! ini emmaich chOrElE

Listen

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

vEvArA – not satisfied with torturing
nOy – disease (love-sickness)
mel – weak (due to separation)
Avi – AthmA
uL – like dried leaf
ularththa – to dry it completely
irAp pagal – night and day
OvAdhu – incessantly
un pAlE – in your qualities
vIzhthu ozhindhAy – one who captivated me
mA – the horse’s (that was the enemy of those who approach you)
vAy – mouth
piLandhu – tore
marudhu – (twin) arjuna tree
idai – in between
pOy – entered
maN – the earth (to make it fully subservient)
aLandhu – measured
mUvA – being every youthful
mudhalvA – Oh the cause of all!
ini – going forward
emmai – us
chOrEl – never leave us

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

Oh emperumAn who tore the mouth of kEsi (horse), who crawled in between the twin trees and measured the earth, who is the cause of all! My already tender/meek AthmA has further fully dried up by being tortured by love-sickness and you made me fully subservient to you by showing your qualities! Now onwards, please don’t fail [leave] me ever. In this, AzhwAr contemplates how emperumAn eliminated the obstacles and sustained him.

vyAkyAnams (commentaries)

Highlights from thirukkurukaippirAn piLLAn‘s vyAkyAnam

See vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s translation.

Highlights from nanjIyar‘s vyAkyAnam

See nampiLLai‘s vyAkyAnam.

Highlights from periyavAchchAn piLLai‘s vyAkyAnam

See nampiLLai‘s vyAkyAnam.

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

  • vEvArA vEtkai nOy – If it started torturing, it will not stop with just torturing once. Unlike other diseases (of the body), this love-disease (of love-sickness of separation from bhagavAn) is never ending [since this affects the AthmA which is eternal].
  • mellAvi – Like her tender body, AzhwAr‘s self too is very tender in nature.
  • uL ularththa – As said in srI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 85.17 “… gUdOgniriva pAdhapam” (like drying of the leaves in a tree by the fire inside the tree-hole), it tortures from inside (AthmA) to outside (body). AthmA is said to be adhAhyam (incombustible – unable to be burnt – srI bhagavath gIthA 2.24), yet it cannot be burnt only by material fire [the anguish of separation from emperumAn will hurt the AthmA]. As said in srI rAmAyaNam sundhara kANdam 35.44 “… mahathA jvalathA nithyamagninEvAgni parvatha:” [Oh revered sIthA! Having not seen you, srI rAma is in anguish like a huge/burning mountain of fire].
  • OvAdhu irAp pagal – Just like the eternal disease, the night and day also seem to be so long.
  • un pAlE vIzhthu ozhindhAy – two explanations:
    • You captivated me towards you from whom no one can return.
    • You captivated me towards you and yet you are staying far away without being friendly.
  • mAvAy … – two explanations:
    • [Focus on mUvA – being still energetic, looking to help] Having casually torn kEsi’s mouth, having entered in between the twin-trees, having recovered the land by conquering [measuring] over that land that was grabbed by mahAbali – after having done so much favours, feeling that you have not done enough, you are looking forward to help everyone.
    • [Focus on mudhalvA – cause] Having done all of these, as if you have not done anything, you performed creation etc., of the universe etc.
  • ini emmai chOrElE – two explanations:
    • AzhwAr requesting emperumAn to arrive at him just by eliminating the obstacles like he eliminated kEsi et al.
    • parAnkusa nAyaki faithfully requesting emperumAn, seeing the great dangers she is facing in not uniting with him.
  • ini – Even if the past is gone, at least in future she wants to be united with emperumAn. It is also explained that – AzhwAr is feeling for the time lost with emperumAn until now. srI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam 5.5 is quoted here: “na mE dhukkam priyA dhUrE” – I am not grieving for my dear (sIthA) being far away; if I took up a journey, I can easily reach her; “na mE dhukkam hruthEthi vA” – I am not grieving that this separation was caused by a rAkshasa, by cutting off his head, that grief will be eliminated; “EthadhEvAnusOchAmi”  – this is my only grief; “vayOsyA hyathivarththathE” – [that is,] I can never bring back the lost time. So, AzhwAr‘s state of separation from emperumAn is like srI rAma‘s separation from sIthA pirAtti.

In the next article we will enjoy the next pAsuram.

adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan

archived in http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org

pramEyam (goal) – http://koyil.org
pramANam (scriptures) – http://srivaishnavagranthams.wordpress.com
pramAthA (preceptors) – http://acharyas.koyil.org
srIvaishNava education/kids portal – http://pillai.koyil.org