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iyaRpA rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi

rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi – 35

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Introduction (given by maNavALa mAmunigaL)

Even though you say that all your karmas went away due to emperumAnAr taking you, what if prakruthi came and encroached due to your connection with it? amudhanAr replies, there is no way/path for it to come and occupy me.

Introduction (given by piLLailOkam jIyar)

You said about your happiness due to the greatness of connection with emperumAnAr where he has taken you up without any efforts from you, and so you said that the karmas of time eternal would not affect you. During all the time that you are connected to the prakruthi materialistic world, as said in ‘nAbuktham ksheeyathE karma’ (how much ever one experiences its effects, karmas are never ending), wouldn’t the experience here be based on the effect of karmas? (amudhanAr replies) only if one does things like dhEvathAnthara bhajanam (worshiping other dhEvathAs), asEvaya sEvai (praising those who are unqualified), and so on, would there be an opportunity for eternal karmas to occupy us. I have given them up fully and strongly, and am living without ever forgetting emperumAnAr’s divine feet; after this has happened, there is no way/entrance for the cruel karmas to come and affect me.

nayavEn oru dheyvam nAnilaththE sila mAnidaththaip
puyalE enak kavi pORRi seyyEn ponnarangam ennil
mayalE perugum irAmAnusan mannu mAmalarth thAL
ayarEn aruvinai ennai evvARu inRu adarppadhuvE            35

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Word by word meaning (given by maNavALa mAmunigaL)

nayavEn – would not be involved in
oru dheivam –  any deity outside of this (other than emperumAn);
kavi pORRi seyyEn – will not praise with poetic words
puyalE ena  – like comparing dark clouds for the generosity
sila mAnidaththai – of some lowly persons
nAnilaththE – in this world.
pon arangam ennil – If the word admirable thiruvarangam is uttered,
mayal perugum irAmAnusan – that would drive emperumAnAr crazy due to love;
ayarEn – I will not forget (at any time), the
mannu – matching each other and well set
mA – extremely worship worthy
malar – and enjoyable
thAL – divine feet (of such emperumAnAr);
So,
evvARu – in what way/path
aru – could the hard to cut off
vinai – karmas
ennai inRu adarppadhu – occupy me now?

Devotion towards insignificant deities, services to wrong ones, thoughts towards insignificant matters are the paths for karmas to come and occupy us; since I don’t have any of these, karmas can’t have any ways to come occupy me, is the point here.

kavi pORRi seyyEn can be seen split as kavi seyyEn (won’t write poetic words on others), pORRi seyyEn (won’t heap ill-deserved praises on others);
puyal – rainy clouds;
mayal ­– madness/loss of sense (due to love).

vyAkyAnam

nayavEn oru dheivam – I don’t involve in any dhEvathA other than emperumAnAr;  nayavEn – would not like;

as said in ‘nAnyam vadhAmi na bhajAmi na chinthayAmi nAnyam smarAmi na SruNomi nacha ASrayAmi | mukthvA thvadheeya charaNAmbujamAdharENa SrI SrInivasa purushOththama dhEhi dhAsyam’ (will not speak of others, will not worship others, will not think of others, will not reflect/recollect about others, will not hear about others; and will not surrender to others either; will liberate from here, till the end will be for your divine feet, Oh Srinivasa! purushOththama!, wish to be your servant ), ‘ninRa Adhip pirAn niRka maRRaith theyvam nAduthirE [thiruvAimozhi – 4.10.1]’ (~when AdhippirAn emperumAn is there standing, you are running to worship other demi-gods!), ‘maRRaith theyvam viLambhuthirE [thiruvAimozhi – 4.10.8]’ (~you are talking about other demi-gods!),

I am not having affinity to anyone including prathama parvam (emperumAn); instead, as said in ‘gurOranyam nabhAvayEth’ (will not consider others as my guru), and in ‘thEvu maRRu aRiyEn [kaNNinuN chiruththAmbu – 2]’(~ do not know any other god (than nammAzhvAr)), I am attached to emperumAnAr as the highest deity;

Also, ‘unnai ozhiya oru dheyvam maRRu aRiyA, mannu pugazh sEr vaduga nambi than nilaiyai, en thanakku nee thandhu ethirAsA ennALum un thanakkE At koL ugandhu [Arththi prabandham – 11]’ (~ Oh emperumAnAr! please give me that state of the ever glorious vaduga nambi who does not know any god other than you, and happily make me yours for ever), and in this way jeeyar also prayed for it.

It is as said in ‘thruNeekrudha virinchAdhi nirankuSa vibhUthaya: | rAmAnuja  padhAmbOja samASrayaNa sAlina:’ (those who have surrendered to emperumAnAr would consider even the world of brahmA as insignificant grass).

nAnilaththE sila mAnidaththaip puyalE enak kavi pORRi seyyEn – As said in ‘en nAvil in kavi yAn oruvarkkum kodukkilEn [thiruvAimozhi – 3.9.1]’ (~ I would not give the sweet poetry coming from my tongue, to anyone else), and ‘mAnidam pAda vandha kaviyEn allEn [thiruvAimozhi – 3.9.9]’ (~ I am not a poet who would sing praises about humans), and ‘kshONee kONa sathAmSa pAlana mahAdhurvAra garvAnala kshubhyath kshudhra narEndhra chathu rachanA dhanyAn namanyAmahE | yankinchith purushA thamangathi payakrAmE samalpArthatham’ (~ we don’t accept, do not consider them as rich – the place he (human king) is ruling is nothing but a small square area in this world, the pride he has got for this is burning big like a fire, these kings are lowly – they cannot give the greatest benefit; they might give some benefit/money which is limited and unfulfilling),

in this big world that is surrounded by the oceans on all the four sides, I would not praise a (lowly) person that he is like the generous rain cloud that pours without any distinction of land and sea,  I would not write poetry for that, or praise by my words, in this way I will not worship (inappropriate) persons.

puyal – cloud.

Or, since amudhanAr is in his charama parva nishtai (service only to AchAryan), he considered even sarvESvaran as to be included with other deities to be ignored, and do not praise Him too as ‘SrI vEnkatAdhri SikarAlaya kALa mEgham’ (kALa mEgham -> rainy cloud), like how he (emperumAnAr) did, instead I shall be like said in ‘thEvu maRRu aRiyEn [kaNNinuN chiruththAmbu – 2]’ (I do not know any other god (than nammAzhvAr)), and ‘gurOr anyan na bhAvayEth’.

When they asked, In this way up to this point you have placed aside the other deities and lowly people, because they are not the ones to be reached, and in case of sarvESvaran who is worthy of reaching, you ignored Him since He is common to both ties here and to liberation, and so you abandoned all the adverse ones; but, have you considered anything, in some form of disguise even, as favorable and so reach that?’, amudhanAr replies, Yes.  What is that? He replies, ‘pon arangam ennil mayalE perugum irAmAnusan mannu mA malarth thAL ayarEn’.

pon arangam ennil mayalE perugum – As said in ‘vAnum maNNum niRaiyap pugundhu eeNdi vaNangum nal thEnum pAlum kalandhu annavar sEr then arangamE [periya thirumozhi – 5.4.8]’ (the beautiful SrIrangam that includes devotees who are like milk and sweet honey mixed together, being fond of the beautiful arangam), the devotion of emperumAnAr towards emperumAn has extended to His devotees, and if some one just mentions the word arangam, then he (emperumAnAr) would lose his sense out of love (brAnthi / vyAmOham).

irAmAnusan – such emperumAnAr’s

srirangam golden vimana historypon arangam

mannu mA malarth thAL  – divine feet; mannu -> nithyam -> exists for ever, mA -> vikasitha -> blossomed (ever); comparison of emperumAnAr’s divine feet is not to just some flower that blossoms one day and wilts the next day; if there was some flower that was always fresh and blossomed and which was in that way by its nature, and becomes fresh and fragrant every day, and is able get all the people of the world under its spell, then that might be considered to some extent to be comparable emperumAnAr’s divine feet;

ayarEn – as said in ‘guru padhAmbujam dhyAyEth’, ‘dhyAyEth japEth namEth bhakthyA’ (should give to, pray to, worship, and be devoted towards the guru), I will always be thinking about that divine feet without ever forgetting it.    ayarvu -> forgetting.

As said in ‘yE nAthavanthOhi bhavanthi lOkE thE nAthma kAryANi samArabhanthE’ (~ whoever has got a lord, they would not depend on anybody, and would give all responsibilities to him), after emperumAnAr has taken up responsibility for my protection, I am being without any worries/burden.

After that, aru vinai ennai evvARu inRu adarppadhuvE.

aru vinai – being hard to remove by experiencing its effects or by amends, the forms of good and bad deeds done from time eternal, could come and –

ennai – (me) – as said in ‘yEna yathra cha bhOkthavyam sukam va dhu:kamEvavA – sathathra rajvA badhvaiva balAdh dhEvEna neeyathE’ (whoever, in which ever place, has to experience happiness and sorrows that would happen by tying them to it by rope, and god would make those to happen (based on our karmas)),

all these days I had experienced the respective effects and He had kept me in worldly affairs, now due to my having esteemed relationship with emperumAnAr – such me;

inRu – now

evvARu adarppadhu – by what means would it affect me (now that emperumAnAr has taken me up)?

As said in ‘vAnO maRi kadalO mArudhamO theeyakamO, kAnO orungiRRuk kaNdilamAl [periya thiruvanthAdhi – 54]’ ((where have my karmas gone after I surrendered to kaNNa pirAn? Into the space? Into the ocean of stepping waves? air? fire? forest? Oh! What a pity! ), for the karmas which run away like the ordinary animals that run away upon seeing the lion, and as said in ‘summenAdhE kai vittu Odith thURugaL pAyndhanavE [periyAzhvAr thirumozhi – 5.4.3]’ (~ (emperumAn! after I took your shelter) even the sins of all in this world have shut up and run away into the bushes (samsAram)),

the karmas have to run away without anyone knowing, and there is no way for it to affect me.

In the pAsuram of ‘nayavEn piRar poruLai [mudhal thiruvanthAdhi – 64]’ (Would not consider the property of emperumAn that is AthmA as mine, won’t have connection with samsAris, won’t spend time other than with SrIvaishNavas, won’t worship any god other than emperumAn, would not feel proud that I got such sathva guNam -> in this way I who am the target of grace of emperumAn, how would I get the anger (effects of bad karmas) of emperumAn?), even prathama parva nishtar (devoted to emperumAn) had said this (but towards emperumAn).

From AzhwAr thirunagari SrI U.Ve. vidhwAn thirumalai nallAn chakravarththi rAmakrishNa iyengAr’s ‘amudha virundhu’:

mAnidaththai – He is saying in this form of neuter gender instead of ‘mAnidar’ that is higher gender, because there is no one worth saying that way in this world.

One who does not understand his own true nature (as AthmA) is equivalent to non-sentient (achith) – in eedu vyAkyAnam of thiruvAimozhi – 3.9.2.

pon arangam – arangam that is desirable like gold. Or, pon -> thiru -> her arangam.  In nAchchiyAr thirumozhi – 11.9 vyAkyAnam, periyavAchchAn piLLai has written, ‘that place’s name is periya pirAtttiyAr’s place of dancing’; pirAtti has ignored her birth place and husband, she has found this place to be suitable for protecting the devotees, and so she is happily present here dancing, say the learned ones. The way pirAtti protects us is through recommendation to arangan emperumAn, so the place where pirAtti’s recommendation easily works out is this thiruvarangam.

In other places, emperumAn’s svAthanthriyam (independent actions) may be pronounced, and pirAtti would have to work hard to control that and highlight his grace; but here significance of pirAtti is more and His independent acts are subdued and so as He sees her happy dance, emperumAn would be ecstatic and so protecting us through Him is easy for her.

In this context, the vyAkyAnam of thirumangai mannan’s divine words of ‘arangamE enbadhu ivaL thanakku AsaiyE [periya thirumozhi – 8.2.7] (~ her wish is the place of arangam only), periyavAchchAn piLLai’s words are to be noted – “that place is kaNNanUr (thirukkaNNapuram) (where emperumAn’s control is more), but this is SrIrangam, it is the woman’s kingdom as said in ‘nakaSchinnAparadhyathi’.

So, emperumAnAr who followed the thapas of the path of prapaththi, performed SaraNAgathi in such SrIrangam in the presence of such periya pirAttiyAr, and since this place was very helpful for that, when someone says ‘pon arangam’, emperumAnAr becomes emotionally lost and becomes like a mentally unstable person due to love (mayal / vyAmOham).

Ramanuja panguni uttiram serthi

Now, when there are many names of emperumAn, why is it that emperumAnAr is emotional about the name of the place thiruvarangam? It is because this name of the place is most loved by his AchAryan thiruvarangap perumAL araiyar, say the learned. This is included by periya jeeyar in the vyAkyAnam of periyAzhvAr thirumozhi – 4.4.1, as explained through an aithihyam – During the charama dhasai (~ending phase) of his AchAryar thiruvarangap perumAL araiyar, emperumAnAr came to him and asked, ‘What are the thoughts in your highness’s heart?’,  he replied, ‘While there are many divine names of bhagavAn, the word ‘thiruvarangam’ is of such a great set of letters! – is what I am thinking’ said araiyar. And so, emperumAnAr thinks that since it is the name loved by an Acharyan of his, that is, AzhvAr thiruvarangap perumAL araiyar, and so he also is in such a love with that name.

– – – – –

Translation: raghurAm SrInivAsa dasan

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thiruvAimozhi thiruvAimozhi 3rd centum

thiruvAimozhi – 3.2.1 – munnIr gyAlam

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rama-ravana-battle

Introduction for this pAsuram

Highlights from thirukkurukaippirAn piLLAn‘s introduction

No specific introduction.

Highlights from nanjIyar‘s introduction

First pAsuram – AzhwAr cries out with grief saying “You gave me the body which is to be used to surrender unto you; but I have instead gone in its (bodily) ways and gone astray; when will I see you?”.

Highlights from vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s introduction

See nanjIyar‘s introduction.

Highlights from periyavAchchAn piLLai‘s introduction

See nanjIyar‘s introduction.

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

First pAsuram. AzhwAr says “You have created this universe and bestowed me body and senses to worship you; I am using those for worldly pleasures and gone astray; you have to tell me, who is in this situation , as to when I will reach you”.

pAsuram

munnIr gyAlam padaiththa em mugil vaNNanE
anNAL nI thandha Akkaiyin vazhi uzhalvEn
vennAL nOy vIya vinaigaLai vEr aRap pAyndhu
ennAL yAn unnai ini vandhu kUduvanE

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

munnIr – having 3 types of water
gyAlam – universe
padaiththa em mugil vaNNanE – created and because of such magnanimous act similar to that of dark clouds (that shower the rain irrespective of land or water), you became my saviour!
annAL – during the time of such srushti (creation)

having merciful heart,
nI – you
thandha – gave (to reach you)
Akkaiyin – body’s
vazhi – going in its ways (that adds bondage)
uzhalvEn – me who is suffering (in garbha (womb), naraka (hell) etc)
vem – that which leads to a pitiable state (after having acquired knowledge)
nAL – in such day
nOy – diseases (in the form of ahankAram (considering oneself to be body), artha (worldly wealth), kAma (worldly pleasure) etc)
vIya – to destroy
vinaigaLai – karmas (which cause them)
vEr – with its traces
aRappAyndhu – plucked and thrown away
yAn – I (who used the senses which were supposed to be favourable towards you, against you)
unnai – you (who is the primary saviour)
ini – after being ungrateful
vandhu – come (giving up this situation)
kUduvan – unite
en nAL – when is that?

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

Oh emperumAn who created the universe that has 3 types of water and because of such magnanimous act similar to that of dark clouds (that shower the rain irrespective of land or water), you became my saviour! During the time of such srushti (creation), having merciful heart, you gave me (to reach you) a body; but in such day when I have become pitiable having gone in such body’s ways (that adds bondage) and am suffering (in garbha (womb), naraka (hell) etc), for such me, plucking and throwing out my karmas with its traces, to destroy the diseases (in the form of ahankAram (considering oneself to be body), artha (worldly wealth), kAma (worldly pleasure) etc) which are caused by such karmas, after me being ungrateful, when will I (who used the senses that were supposed to be favourable towards you, against you) unite with you (who is the primary saviour)?

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

  • munnIr – River water, ground water and rain water. As said in manu smruthi 1.8 “apa Eva sasarjAdhau” (that supreme being first created water), first created water and then created the aNda (universe containing 14 layers from brahma lOkam at the top till pAthALa lOkam at the bottom).
  • gyAlam padaiththa – emperumAn who created this universe with diverse forms. Seeing the jIvAthmAs in a helpless state, being overwhelmed by compassion, he created the universe thinking “let them acquire body and senses to be uplifted”.
  • em mugil vaNNanE – Though bhagavAn creates to help every one, AzhwAr considers it as “madhartham” (for me). Like if a person performs great penances and brings the rains, many will reap the benefit, AzhwAr thinks, because emperumAn created the universe for me, all the AthmAs in the universe benefited too. AzhwAr says “mugil vaNNan” (cloud like) to highlight the qualities of cloud such as helping everyone and helping without expecting anything in return.
  • an nAL – That time when the AthmA was without any body/senses, being covered by subtle matter (the state of matter during deluge) and being qualified to accept the mercy.
  • nI – At that time, you who helped, since you consider it (the loss of AthmAs) as your own loss as said in mahOpanishath “sa EkAki na ramEtha” (he is not happy when being alone [as the AthmAs are in subtle state, without any means to express themselves, they are as good as non-existing].
  • thandha – you bestowed the body so that it can bow at your divine feet and attain you.
  • nI thandha – bestowed by you, who is very compassionate. Instead of the AthmAs requesting you, you yourself bestowed out of your compassion. The rarity of acquiring human body is explained in SrI bhAgavatham 11.2.28 “dhurlabhO mAnushO dhEha:” (It is very difficult to acquire human body) etc. Why is this (act of bestowing bodies/senses) explained as a favour? Is creation not happening based on karma? Though creation happens based on karma as said in “yaugapadhyam anugraha kAryam” (the whole universe(s) is created at once out of bhagavAn‘s mercy on seeing the plight of jIvAthmAs without any body/senses). SrIrangarAja sthavam 2.41 “achidhaviSEshithAn praLayasImani samsaratha: karaNakaLEbararirgatayithum dhayamAnamanA: …” (In the state of deluge, seeing the plight of chEthanas (souls) who are as good as achEthana (matter) [due to lack of body/senses], you, with compassionate heart, to bestow them body and senses, with your divine will, transformed the primordial (subtle) matter into gross forms such as mahAn, ahankAram,  pancha bhUthams etc). Like an emperor would release the prisoners on special occasions, you out of your mercy, blessed the souls with bodies and senses.
  • Akkaiyin vazhi uzhalvEn – You bestowed me the body with a particular intent; but I went with the ways of the body [instead of following your will]. embAr explained this as “When we are supposed to push the boat to reach emperumAn and enjoy him, like those who don’t understand the value of the boat and move along with the flow to end up in the ocean, I went along with worldly pleasures and caused disaster to self”.
  • vennAL – Once knowledge about the true nature of the self is acquired, the time spent in this material realm would feel like sIthA pirAtti’s [unbearable] stay in lankA in separation from SrI rAma. For AzhwAr, when in separation from bhagavAn, it feels like he is being burnt – so he says “vem nAL” (hot day).
  • nOy – birth [birth itself is considered as a disease that is to be cured]. SrI bharathAzhwAn’s disease was unlike chAthurthikam (a type of fever which is considered deadly that will kill very quickly), it is due to separation from SrI rAma [which lasted for 14 long years]; in the same manner, AzhwAr‘s disease (of separation from bhagavAn) is also well-known.
  • vIya – to eradicate.
  • vinaigaLai vEraRap pAyndhu – SrI rAmAyaNam sundhara kANdam 37.6 “rAkshasAnAm kshayam kruthvA sUdhayithvA cha rAvaNam | lankAmunmUlithAm kruthvA kadhAdhrakshyathi mAm pathi: ||” (My husband SrI rAm will cause destruction for the rAkshasas, kill rAvaNa and destroy lankA completely and will see me always” – AzhwAr too desires that his hurdles are eradicated like this – i.e., eradicating the avidhyA (ignorance) etc along with their impressions, that cause the grief of separation. From “pAyndhu“, we can understand the anger of AzhwAr towards such hurdles. AzhwAr is saying “How can I do this (eliminating hurdles) which can only be done by bhagavAn, who is all capable?”.
  • ennAL – I am not saying that “I want this now”. I will be happy if you tell me when you will bestow that to me. As said in SrI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam 127.1 “pUrNE chathurdhaSE varshE …” (after completing 14 full years SrI rAma, elder brother of SrI lakshmaNa arrived at bharadhwAja maharishi’s ASramam on a panchami day and worshipped the maharishi).
  • yAn – me who used the body and senses for worldly pleasures and inflicted this disaster on myself.
  • unnai – You who can be requested to give a solution for the disaster I have caused upon myself.
  • ini – After having destroyed the tools/mercy that was given by you.
  • ini vandhu kUduvanE – Previous AchAryas would explain this as AzhwAr giving up thinking “Is it even possible to reach him?”. But emperumAnAr explains “AzhwAr is of the nature that if he gives up, he will be finished. He would give up in ninth pAsuram and emperumAn will appear immediately and convince him in the tenth pAsuram”. So here AzhwAr is saying “Tell me the day when you have arranged for me to reach you”.

In the next article we will enjoy the next pAsuram.

adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan

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Arththi prabandham Other

Arththi Prabandham – 15

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EmperumAnar_thirukoshtiyuremperumAnAr – thirukkOshtiyUr

Introduction

maNavALa mAmunigaL opines that he had pointed fingers at SrI rAmAnuja for his pitiable condition and also pleaded him to get him out of his dire straits. maNavALa mAmunigaL paused and thought to himself that SrI rAmAnuja is one who is full of auspicious qualities as per the phrase “irAmAnusan mikka puNNiyanE (rAmAnusa nURRandhAdhi 91). If we catch his lotus feet with all love and devotion, without blaming him for my pitiable condition, will he not do the job automatically for us? maNavALa mAmunigaL then goes ahead to explore within himself whether he has any love and devotion towards SrI rAmAnuja. After some deep research, maNavALa mAmunigaL comes to the conclusion that he has nothing in that regard towards SrI rAmAnuja.

pAsuram

emperumAnAr thiruvadigaLE SaraNam
enbadhuvE nAvuraikkum iththAl en?
anbavar pAl ippOdhaLavum yAn onRum kANginRilEn
eppOdhu undAvadhu ini?

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iyaRpA rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi

rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi – 34

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ramanuja

Introduction (given by maNavALa mAmunigaL)

He talked about how emperumAnAr protected the world affected by kali yugam, about how Athma guNam etc., would automatically come to those who surrendered to emperumAnAr, and about the help (from divine weapons of emperumAn) for his ability to nurture Athma guNam – in previous two pAsurams;  in this pAsuram – in this way even after removing the blemishes of such times (kali yugam) and protecting the world, emperumAnAr’s qualities did not fully get highlighted; only after removing my karmas is when his qualities came to be distinguished and fruitful, says amudhanAr.

Introduction (given by piLLailOkam jIyar)

In the previous two pAsurams – due to the fierceness of kali yugam the world suffered, and emperumAnAr came and protected it – to those who surrendered to emperumAnAr, wealth (service) that is as per their true nature would come to them automatically; he is having greatness of ability to protect us;  In this pAsuram – due to that kind of ability to protect, his greatness was not well known everywhere – only after burning the volumes of books containing the notes of my bad deeds that are kept written in yama lOka did the greatness of his auspicious qualities got its life! – says amudhanAr.

nilaththaich cheRuththuNNum neesak kaliyai ninaippariya
palaththaich cheRuththum piRangiyadhillai en pey vinai then
pulaththil poRiththa ap puththagach chummai poRukkiya pin
nalaththaip poRuththadhu irAmAnusan than nayap pugazhE        34

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Word by word meaning (given by maNavALa mAmunigaL)

neesak kaliyai  – kali yugam that is to be avoided
seRuththu  – which troubled
uNNum – and harmed
nilaththai – the world,
palaththai – which is of strength
ninaippariya – that cannot be comprehended by mind;
irAmAnusan than – emperumAnAr’s
pugazh – hundreds of excellent qualities
nayam – which are desirable, had
seRuththum – (emperumAnAr) removed the effects of such kali yugam
like how darkness won’t stand in the presence of light; even then –
piRangiyathillai – his greatness did not become distinguished;
vinai – karmas of bad deeds
pey – created
en – by me myself,
poRiththa – that are written recorded
then pulaththil  – in the world of yama,
poRukkiya pin – only after burning
ap puththagach chummai – those weighty books,
nalaththai poRuththadhu – did emperumAnAr’s greatness got its being.

vyAkyAnam

nilam – the majestic earth where various goals of dharma, artha, kAma and mOksha are executed; in the yugams of krutha, thrEthA, dhvAparam, etc., as said in ‘chAthur varNyam mayA srushtam guNa karma vibhAgaSa: [SrI bhagavath gIthA]’ (I created four categories based on characteristics and karmas) , and everything was done in those times as per their status, state, etc.,

and as said in ‘nirAmaya: arOgashcha dhurbhiksha bhaya varjitha:  na puthra maraNam kinchith nAryascha avidhavA nithyam bhavishyanthi  pathivrathA: na vAthanam bhayam kinchit ’ (~ no illness of body in anyone, no one having fear, children do not die before their parents; no widows, people were always virtuous, no fear of cyclones, etc.,; no fear of thieves existing, all the cities and places were with wealth, grains, etc., and people were always together with emperumAn – all these in krutha yugam) where everything is done based on the commands of emperumAn (as per SAsthram) and was having more and more happiness.

seRuththu – (in kali yugam) such greatness were sidelined, and was doing the opposite of those times and making it sorrowful for –

nilaththai – the people living in the world;

uNNum – making the people of the world to be under its spell, and ruling them; we said in previous pAsurams how such kali destroyed the goodness of the world;

neesak kaliyai – like the lowest ones among humans, this kali yugam is the worst among the yugams;

neesak kaliyai – of kali yugam that is lowly,

ninaippariya balaththai – As said in ‘aprApya manasAsaha’ (emperumAn’s greatness is not measurable by mind or words), even if ones are of very good nobility, they cannot think that they could live without getting affected by its fierceness – it having such a strength; strength that cannot be comprehended by the mind; even if one could comprehend the strength of sarvESvaran who is said as ‘mahAbala:’, one cannot comprehend the strength of kali yugam!

seRuththum – like the sun rising and completely removing the darkness, even after he (emperumAnAr) removed the darkness of kali yugam;  the one who got ‘mayarvaRa mathi nalam [thiruvAimozhi – 1.1.1]’ (non-blemished knowledge)  also celebrated the (future) incarnation of emperumAnAr, saying ‘poliga poliga poliga pOyiRRu valluyirch chApam, naliyum narakamum naindha namanukku ingu yAdhonRum illai, kaliyum kedum kaNdu koNmin [thiruvAimozhi – 5.2.1]’ (~ hurrah! hurrah! hurrah! there is no work for yaman in this world where gone are the sins that come due to being the beings in this world! (very soon) kali also would be destroyed!);

as said in ‘svapurushamabiveekshya pASahastham vadhathi yama:kila thasya karNamUlE | parihara madhusUdhana prapannAn prabhur aham anya nruNAm na vaishNavANAm ’[SrI vishNu purANam] (~ yama addressed his servants he cares about, looking at them with care, calling them to come closer, and told in their ears to not bother the devotees of madhusUdhan emperumAn, and to be humble towards them and respect them), and ‘bhavacharaNamitheerayanthi yEvai thyaja padha dhUratharENa thAnapApAn [SrI vishNu purANam]’ (~ whoever says charaNam to emperumAn, please don’t go near them; leave them) , and ‘nakalubhagavathAyamavishayam gachchandhi [SrI vishNu purANam]’ (~ if they are devotees of emperumAn, then they won’t go near the matters of yama) ,

after emperumAnAr incarnated and made everyone walk in the path of prapaththi and made them followers of emperumAn, and in the way of ‘kali thannaik kadakkap pAyndhu nAvalittu uzhi tharuginROm naman thamar thalaigaL meedhE [thirumAlai – 1]’ (have pushed away the ills of kali, and are shouting victory while walking around without care (on the heads of the servants of yaman)),

even after saving the world from the heat of kali yugam,

irAmAnusan than nayap pugazhE – emperumAnAr’s desirable auspicious qualities;  nayam – liking of.

piRangiyadhillai – (those qualities) did not get highlighted;

If asking how it happened then:

en pey vinai – Starting from time eternal till now, as said in ‘thebhyOpyadhikAni thAnyahamabhi kshudhra: karOmikshaNAth’ (~ I have done bad deeds that are worst than the worst, and I have done all of that within half a second), and  ‘ yAvachcha yachcha dhuritham sakalasyajanthO: thAvachcha thath thathathikancha mamAsthi sathyam’ (whoever has got how much ever bad karmas, how many ever beings have how much ever bad karmas, I have got ten time more bad karmas in me),  I who do not know what is acceptable and what is to be rejected – the pApams created by me based on doing what is banned, and not doing what is required;  pey – creating;

then pulaththil – in the abode of yama – a painful place in the direction of south,

poRiththa – (list of my sins are)  written down recorded by chithragupthan.

ap puththaga summai – the burden of those books; summai – sumai – weight/burden;  by this it has talked about the nature of sins being unbounded, that are accumulated in the forms of insults to emperumAn (bhagavath apachAram), insults to His devotees (bhAgavatha apachAram), insults to others by not able to bear them (for no/small reason) (asahya apachAram), etc., due to which the karmas are of the size of mountains (sanchitha), and karmas taken up to be effected in this birth (prArabdha) and those going to be committed (AgAmi).

poRukkiya pin – after he (emperumAnAr) burned those of my karmas fully, without losing any strands of them;  poRukki – burning;

nalaththaip poRuththadhu –  As said in ‘pApadhvAntha kshayAyacha | SrImAn AvirabhUthbhUmau rAmAnuja dhivAkara:’ , (after that), his auspicious qualities got brightened and got its life.

 

From AzhwAr thirunagari SrI U.Ve. vidhwAn thirumalai nallAn chakravarththi rAmakrishNa iyengAr’s ‘amudha virundhu’:

nilaththaich cheRuththuNNum neesak kali– kali is neecha because it is ruling the people of the world and beings are suffering; unlike krutha and other yugams.

cheRuththu – destroys – destroys both varNASrama dharmam, and, devotion towards emperumAn/AchAryan.

As said in ‘varNASramAchAravathee pravruththir nakalau nruNAm’ (activities/karmas related to varNASramam would not be present during the age of kali), the dharmas set for the state of AthmA that is being together in the body (viSishta vEsha mariyadhai), are not followed during kali;

Also, as said in ‘kalau jagathpathim vishNum sarvasrashtArameeSvaram | nArchayishyanthi maithrEya pAshaNdOpahathA janA: ||’ (Hey maithrEya!  The people who were corrupted by the pAshandis would not worship in the kali yugam the one who is the head of the world, one who created everything, and who is the ISvaran, that is, vishNu), the dharmas set for the separate state of the Athma thathvam (nikrushta vEsha mariyAdhai) is also destroyed, due to kali.

Since kali destroys both types of dharmas it is ‘neecha’ (lowly) kali.

palaththaich cheRuththum piRangiyadhillai – such a difficult task of removing the effects of kali was done by emperumAnAr! But amudhanAr says that it does not add to the greatness of emperumAnAr – because it is not hard for him it seems!  Then what would add to his greatness? :-

en pey vinai poRuththadhu  – amudhanAr says that his own (bad) deeds are not done one at a time – they are all done in one moment itself; all the bundles and bundles of the notes taken by chithragupthan about his deeds were all burned by emperumAnAr in one second it seems. So this is the lovable greatness of emperumAnAr according to amudhanAr, since it is not something that could not be done by anyone else!

– – – – –

Translation: raghurAm SrInivAsa dasan

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thiruvAimozhi thiruvAimozhi 3rd centum

thiruvAimozhi – 3.2 – munnIr

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Full series >> Third Centum

Previous Decad

Audio

kallalagar-ahzwar -srinivasan

Highlights from thirukkurugaippirAn piLLAn‘s introduction

AzhwAr having visualized emperumAn, but not having united per his desires due to the bondage in this material realm, being drowned in ocean of grief, calls out for emperumAn.

Highlights from nanjIyar‘s introduction

In second decad – For a very thirsty person, when very pure water is nearby, yet if his mouth is shut (due to disease), he will suffer greatly. Similarly, for AzhwAr who has great desire (for emperumAn), thirumalai (archAvathAra emperumAn – emperumAn in deity form in thirumAlirunchOlai) is very near by, instead of being able to enjoy such emperumAn fully, he became very grief-struck seeing his limited senses due to bondage in this material world is stopping him from enjoying such emperumAn, and becomes very distressed. He thinks “emperumAn mercifully performed creation, and assumed many incarnations in the created world to help everyone to eradicate the bondage and reach his lotus feet; but those were not helpful for me. Now, is there no way for me to be freed from bondage and reach him?” and being helpless, starts finishing himself. Seeing that, emperumAn mercifully shows AzhwAr his deity forms which specifically exist for those who missed out such vibhava incarnations and AzhwAr becomes uplifted and completes [this decad] happily.

Highlights from vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s introduction

In second decad – Thus, having the opportunity to enjoy the divine beauty etc of SEshi (the lord) who is the recipient of AzhwAr’s natural servitude, AzhwAr meditates upon the reason for not achieving the same due to his own bondage with his body etc; with the desire to eliminate that [bondage], highlights the following aspects:

  1. that, bhagavAn created these (bestowed bodies to souls) to have them in his service
  2. the activity which was performed by him to ensure that the created universe fully exists for him
  3. his nature of destroying the enemies of his devotees
  4. his all pervading nature to protect his devotees
  5. his great divine form which attracts everyone to constantly enjoy him
  6. his supremacy which keeps all chEthanas (souls) under his control
  7. his simplicity which is even observed in his all pervading nature
  8. the radiance in his divine form and qualities which were acquired by his simplicity
  9. his favour to all irrespective of the recipient being wise or ignorant
  10. being the object of all vEdhams which is revealing such favours of him

Explaining these, AzhwAr calls out for emperumAn, and becomes well settled being consoled by the presence of ISwara who is very easily approachable.

Highlights from periyavAchchAn piLLai‘s introduction

See nampiLLai‘s introduction.

Highlights from nampiLLai‘s introduction

When parASara bhattar was in thirukkOshtiyUr, SrI rAmap piLLai (vEdha vyAsa bhattar) asked him “AzhwAr is not grief struck since he desired to enjoy bhagavAn‘s parathvam (supremacy) in paramapadham but could not experience it here; he is not grief struck since he desired to enjoy vibhavAvathArams (SrI rAma, krishNa et al) but could not experience it since they were in the past; he wanted to experience emperumAn in ugandharuLina nilangaL (dhivya dhESams), that too thirumalai; so instead of enjoying archAvathAra emperumAn more and more, why is he missing out on it and suffering for the same?”. bhattar gives the following elaborate reply – Due to dharmi aikyam (the same person in different manifestation), whether it is parathvam (emperumAn‘s supreme form in paramapadham), vyUham (emperumAn’s form in kshIrAbdhi), vibhavAvathArams (SrI rAma, krishNa et al) or archAvathAram, all of these forms are complete in all aspects; a form may look inferior (to another form) based on the defect in the observer. When we go near an ocean, we can only see as much as our eyes can behold. Similarly, when AzhwAr enjoyed azhagar emperumAn‘s beauty etc, he could not fully enjoy him; for a very thirsty person, when very pure water is nearby, yet if his mouth is shut (due to disease), he will suffer greatly; similarly, for AzhwAr who has great desire (for emperumAn), thirumalai (archAvathAra emperumAn – emperumAn in deity form in thirumAlirunchOlai) is very near by, since emperumAn is of unlimited nature and cannot be enjoyed fully, AzhwAr instead of understanding that “it is because of emperumAn’s greatness”, he thought that it is because of the limitation of his senses. He thinks “emperumAn mercifully performed creation, assumed many incarnations in the created world, protected everyone by being the antharyAmi (super soul) to help everyone to eradicate the bondage and reach his lotus feet; but those were not helpful for me. Now, is there no way for me to be freed from bondage and reach him?” and thinks that he will be finished. Seeing this, emperumAn says “Don’t think that this is due to limitation in your senses. Even those who have no limitations in their senses, go through the same emotions”. Desirous of convincing AzhwAr, emperumAn says “I am present in north thirumalai (thiruvEnkatam – thirumalA thiruppathi) to accept your service in whatever way you desire; you come there and enjoy me” and seeing that, AzhwAr becomes pacified and completes the decad. When asked “Why did emperumAn pacify AzhwAr who tried to enjoy emperumAn in theRkuth thirumalai (south thirumalai – thirumAlirunchOlai) but suffered being unable to approach him, by showing vadakkuth thirumalai (north thirumalA – thiruppathi)?”, it is explained that, [first explanation] when a toddler cries for breast milk, the mother will breast feed the child [in periya thirumadal, the two hills are explained as two breasts of the mother earth]; but when the child desires for a particular breast, should the mother not give milk from that breast? Not necessarily; [second explanation] since AzhwAr has lost his way, he does not know exactly what he wants [so either dhivya dhESam is fine]. More over, the same object that is necessary one time may be hazardous at other times. The same food which is hazardous during indigestion, will become necessary when the indigestion is cured; [since AzhwAr is in such state] he would not know which one is necessary and which one is hazardous. Only bhagavAn who sustains AzhwAr by manifesting his various qualities and AzhwAr himself would clearly know this. [third explanation] In south thirumalai (thirumAlirunchOlai), emperumAn’s easy approachability is towards the people of the mlEchcha (outer) lands that were looked-down upon by learned people; but here in north thirumalai (thiruvEnkatam) emperumAn’s easy approachability is even towards animals as said in nAnumgan thiruvanthAdhi 47 “kAnamum vAnaramum vEdumudai vEngadam” (thiruvEnkatam which has forests, monkeys and hunters).

Each pAsuram is discussed subsequently.

adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan

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Audio thiruvAimozhi thiruvAimozhi 3rd centum

thiruvAimozhi – 3.2 – Audio

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thiruvAimozhi –> thiruvAimozhi 3rd centum

Previous Decad

Meanings

kallalagar-ahzwar -srinivasan

 

Full Rendering

pAsuram

pAsuram

pAsuram

pAsuram

pAsuram

pAsuram

pAsuram

pAsuram

pAsuram

pAsuram

pAsuram


~

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thiruvAimozhi thiruvAimozhi 3rd centum

thiruvAimozhi – 3.1.11 – viyappAya viyappillA

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Full series >> Third Centum >> First decad

Previous pAsuram

nammazhvar_bavishyadhAchar

Introduction for this pAsuram

Highlights from thirukkurukaippirAn piLLAn‘s introduction

No specific introduction.

Highlights from nanjIyar‘s introduction

In the end, AzhwAr says “This decad will uplift those who learn it and also will eradicate the worldly sorrow”.

Highlights from vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s introduction

Subsequently, AzhwAr explains elimination of this worldly birth as the result of this decad.

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

viyappAya viyappillA meygyAna vEdhiyanai
sayap pugazhAr palar vAzhum thadam kurugUrch chatakOpan
thuyakkinRith thozhudhuraiththa AyiraththuL ippaththum
uyak koNdu piRappaRukkum oli munnIr gyAlaththE

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

viyappAya – surprising to see qualities, activities etc (when seen in others)
viyappillA – nothing unusual (in bhagavAn‘s case)

those which shine due to being related to bhagavAn,
mey gyAnam – that which explains such true knowledge
vEdhiyanai – one who is known through vEdhams
sayam – jayam – victory (over samsAram (worldly bondage)) leading to
pugazhAr – one who has glories (such as gyAnam (knowledge), vairAgyam (detachment))
palar – many
vAzhum – living (enjoying AzhwAr’s greatness)
thadam – vast
kurugUr – leader of AzhwArthirunagari
SatakOpan – nammAzhwAr
thuyakku – confusion of mind (in the form samSaya (doubt), viparyaya (error))
inRi – without
thozhudhu – rendering service (which is the natural act of true knowledge)
uraiththa – mercifully spoken
AyiraththuL ippaththum – this decad among the thousand pAsurams
oli – joyful noise
munnIr – having the ocean which has three types of water (river water, ground water and rain water)
gyAlaththu – in the world
uyak koNdu – uplifting (by bestowing knowledge etc)
piRappu – relationship with [further worldly] births
aRukkum – will eradicate

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

emperumAn in whom the amazing qualities etc are natural (nothing unusual) whereas in others it is surprising to see any qualities, activities etc; such emperumAn is revealed by vEdhams that shine due to being related to bhagavAn and that which explain such true knowledge. nammAzhwAr, who is the leader of AzhwArthirunagari, where many glorious personalities who have won over the worldly bondage, live enjoying greatness of nammAzhwAr. This decad among the thousand pAsurams, which is mercifully spoken by such nammAzhwAr without any confusion in his mind (in the form of doubt, error) and rendering service (which is the natural act of true knowledge). Such decad will uplift (by bestowing knowledge etc) those jIvAthmAs in this world which is having the ocean that makes joyful noise and that has three types of water (river water, ground water and rain water) and will eradicate the relationship with [further worldly] births.

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

  • viyappAya viyappillA – [Those qualities, activities etc] When observed in others, we will be surprised, but when seen in bhagavAn, it will seem normal. When some one donates four (a few) cows in charity, it will make us wonder. But when we hear that “SrI rAma gave in charity”, it will sound quite normal. When SrI rAma was giving away wealth in charity and completed it, a brAhmaNa named thrijada arrived there, Since SrI rAma wondered what to give, he said “You throw your stick as far as possible, and I will give you cows fitting that distance”. The brAhmaNa obliged and went away with so many cows [that fit within the boundary].
  • mey gyAna vEdhiyanai – emperumAn who has the greatness of being revealed by vEdham which speaks the truth as it is.
  • sayam … – Like AzhwAr himself who said in thiruviruththam 1 “inninRa nIrmai ini yAm uRAmai” (I cannot bear this lowly life in this material realm), many SrIvaishNavas live here enjoying AzhwAr – AzhwArthirunagari which is the vast abode that accommodates all such SrIvaishNavas.
  • thuyakku inRi – thuyakku means confusion in mind. This decad which is among the thousand pAsurams, which was composed after AzhwAr fully visualized the truth without any doubt, error.
  • oli munnIr gyAlaththE – In this world which has the noisy ocean which has the three types of water, this decad will uplift those who were as said in thaiththiya upanishath  “asannEva sa bhavathi” (as good as non-existing) to become as in thaiththiya upanishath “santhamEnam thathO vidhu:” (due to knowing brahmam, others know him to be existing) and will also eliminate the hurdles. Like when a kingdom becomes leaderless, [if there were a prince who was imprisoned for some reason] the prince would first be crowned and then his shackles will be broken, this decad would first engage one in kainkaryam at the divine feet of azhagar emperumAn and then the bondage in this material world which is a hurdle for such kainkaryam, would be eliminated.

Finally, nampiLLai summarizes the contents of this decad briefly.

  • In the first pAsuram, AzhwAr meditated upon the perfect match between azhagar emperumAn‘s divine ornaments and divine form.
  • In the second pAsuram, he said “For such perfect match, those examples given by worldly people will only cause blemish to you”.
  • In the third pAsuram, emperumAn said “forget about worldly people, why can’t you explain that?”, AzhwAr replied “I won’t be able to completely explain that”.
  • In the fourth pAsuram,  “you, who is great and infinitely sweet, confused the worldly people so that they lose you”.
  • In the fifth pAsuram,  emperumAn said “you are different from worldly people, why can’t you speak?” and AzhwAr replied “You have transformed me to be different from worldly people, but you have not made yourself to be limited [you are still unlimited]”.
  • In the sixth pAsuram, emperumAn said “why don’t you along with vEdhams speak about me?” and AzhwAr replied “Even vEdhams cannot fully understand you”.
  • In the seventh pAsuram, emperumAn said “Leave aside vEdhams; there are some vaidhika purushas (those who are well-versed in vEdham). What is the problem in them glorifying me?” and AzhwAr replied “Even that will cause blemish only to you”.
  • In the eighth pAsuram, AzhwAr said “even if we imagined a brahmA who is not in karma bhAvanA (engaging in worldly creation etc) and is fully in brahma bhAvanA (total devotion towards bhagavAn), even such brahmA’s glorification would cause blemish only to you”.
  • In the ninth pAsuram,  AzhwAr said “as we are not able to speak about his supremacy, is his simplicity easy to speak about?”.
  • In the tenth pAsuram, AzhwAr said “Isn’t it a blemish if those who are created by brahmA who was created by you, glorify you?”.
  • In the end, AzhwAr mercifully explained that, this decad by itself will give the ultimate result.

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

In the next article we will enjoy the next decad.

adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan

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iyaRpA rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi

rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi – 33

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Introduction (given by maNavALa mAmunigaL)

As said in asthrabhUshaNa adhyAyam (in a chapter in SrIvishNu purANam describing the asthrams (weapons) of emperumAn and specifying representative effects), for mind, etc., (mind, etc., mentioned in the previous pAsuram) effected by thiruvAzhi (chakram/disc), etc., by which winning of senses are to be achieved, amudhanAr replies that all those have come with emperumAnAr for protection of this world; or, these have come incarnated as emperumAnAr for protecting the world.

Introduction (given by piLLailOkam jIyar)

In the lotus flower dense with leaves, is where periya pirAttiyAr incarnated; his husband sarvESvaran’s divine hands hold the ever present chakram, and SrI nandhakam that is kadgam (sword) that befits the chakram, SrI gadhai that plays role in protection of devotees, very commendable SrI sArngam, beautiful to see as it appears curved big at top and having the name of valampuri that is Sri pAnchajanyam (conch), came to help emperumAnAr to save the world from the ruling kali yugam, says amudhanAr. Or, it is also said that all these five came and incarnated as emperumAnAr.

adaiyAr kamalaththu alarmagaL kELvan kai Azhi ennum
padaiyOdu nAndhagamum padar thaNdum oN sArnga villum
pudaiyAr puri sankamum indhap pUthalam kAppadharkku enRu
idaiyE irAmAnusa muni Ayina innilaththE                                      33

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Word by word meaning (given by maNavALa mAmunigaL)

adaiyAr kamalaththu alarmagAL – for pirAtti who has got the birth place as lotus flower with its dense leaves
kELvan – Her husband (is emperumAn); His –

kai – hands; in it – as said in ‘chalasya rUpam adhyanthajavE nAntharithAnilam, chakra svarUpancha manOdhaththE vishNu:karEsthitham [SrIvishNu purANam]’, (~ the disc in the hands of emperumAn can fly faster than vAyu, it is representative of manas thathvam)  being the representative of manas (mind) thathvam,
Azhi ennum padaiyOdu – that is well known as the divine weapon chakram; 

as said in ‘bhibharthi yachchASirathnam achyudhOthyantha nirmalam | vidhyA mayanthu thadhgyAnam’ ,
nAndhagamum – the divine sword; representative for knowledge;

as said in ‘budhdhirapyAsthEkathA rUpENa mAdhavE’, being representative of budhdhi,
padar – being spread out for protecting
thaNdum – that is SrI gadhai;

as said in ‘bhUthAdhim indhriyAdhimcha dhvithAhankAram ISvara: | bhibharthi Sanka rUpENa SArnga rUpENa cha sthitham’, being the cause of indhriyas (11 senses) that is due to sAthvika ahankAram (thathvam),
oN – distinguished,
sArnga villum – the divine bow having the divine name of SrI sArngam,

being the cause of bhUtham that is due to thAmasa ahankAram, and which is for making mighty sound, and being pudai Ar – and being big in the upper part,
puri – and beautiful looking, valampuri (curved to the right side)
sankamum – SrI pAnchajanyam (conch),

kAppadharkku enRu – to protect
indhap pUthalam – this world,
iramAnusa muni idaiyE Ayina – came to be beside emperumAnAr
in nilaththE – in this world.

Being beside him (emperumAnAr) is – waiting to see where he looks (what he wants to do), and being helpful in his activities;

Or, they all came as AvESa avathAram as emperumAnAr in the middle (of guru paramparai / AzhwArs); thus amudhanAr explains emperumAnAr‘s smartness in winning over the enemies;

vyAkyAnam

adaiyAr kamalaththu alar magaL kELvan – As the lotus flower grows out of the majestic water with tall stem (in emperumAnAr‘s words:  ‘gambheerAmbhassamudhbhUtham’), it would be with lots of beauty, fragrance, pleasantness, etc.,  and with dense leaves;  periya pirAttiyAr incarnated in it as if such lotus flower’s scent has taken shape, and she is not able to leave it due to its attractiveness; such pirAtti’s dear one, that is SrI paravAsudhEvan emperumAn; His –

kai Azhi ennum padaiyOdu – the one and only chakram (disc) which is ever present  in His divine hand;  as said in asthra bhUshaNa adhyAyam,  “chalasya rUpam adhyanthajavE nAntharithAnilam, chakra svarUpancha manOdhaththE vishNu:karEsththitham [vishNu purANam]’, (~ the disc in the hands of emperumAn can fly faster than vAyu, He wears it as manas thathvam), it is being the representative of manas thathvam, being profound, (other such divine items are) considered together to be well fitting such thiruvAzhiyAzhvAn (divine disc);  kai Azhi – when devotees are affected by enemies, and when they call Him for help, after hearing  such call, if he needs to  look for it then He might lose time, so He is always keeping His hand on it!

nAndhakamum – As said in ‘bhibharthi yachchASirathnam achyudhOthyantha nirmalam | vidhyA mayanthu thadhgyAnamavidhyAcharmasam sthitham’, being representative of knowledge, which is known as nandhakam that is the divine sword;

padar thaNdum – as said in ‘budhdhirapyAsthEkathA rUpENa mAdhavE’, being representative of budhdhi (intellect/discernment), and when correcting the enemies of devotees it would appear enormous, that is the gadhai;

oN sArnga villum pudaiyAr puri sankamum –  as said in ‘bhUthAdhim indhriyAdhimcha dhvithAhankAram ISvara: | bhibharthi Sanka rUpENa SArnga rUpENa cha sthitham’, being the cause of indhriyas (11 senses) that is due to sAthvika ahankAram, being fully distinguished, and having the name as sArngam, that is the divine bow, and

being the cause of bhUtham that is due to thAmasa ahankAram, which is sounded mightily, and being big in the upper part, and beautiful looking,- valampuri SrI pAnchajanyam (conch),
that is swirled towards the right (puri -> valampuri).

panchayudham_2emperumAn with the five nithyasUris
courtesy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQJ8hnUaRHA

indhap pUthalam kAppadharkkenRu – being seen as shown in the previous pAsuram the kali yugam that was ruling such world, and was sidelining the path of vEdhas – such world that grows ignorance in the people – to protect them –

idaiyE  – the aforementioned divine aspects of emperumAn came in the middle of  –

innilaththE – in this world which is such that the nithya sUris (even dhEvas) would be very disgusted;

irAmAnusa muni Ayina – made themselves available to help in protecting this world that is always in the thoughts of  (muni) emperumAnAr; that is, they came to fulfill the wishes of emperumAnAr; Or, for protecting the people of this world they themselves came here and were born as emperumAnAr;

abhyukthar (vEdhAnthAchAryar) also divined, ‘prathayan vimathEshu theekshNa bhAvam prabhur asmath pari rakshaNE yatheendhra: | apruthak prathipanna yanmayathvair vavruthE panchabhir Ayudhair murArE: [yathirAja sapthathi – 12]’ (~ emperumAnAr is fiery against those of other philosophies (that refuse or misinterpret vEdham), he the lord is our protector; the five weapons of emperumAn are not identified as separate from emperumAnAr, and they are said to be as emperumAnAr himself).

From AzhwAr thirunagari SrI U.Ve. vidhwAn thirumalai nallAn chakravarththi rAmakrishNa iyengAr’s ‘amudha virundhu’:

adaiyAr kamalaththu alar magaL – due to the presence of pirAtti, the divine weapons of emperumAn are not of destroying nature, but of giving (help/protection) here.

Since it may not gel well to say that all the five divine AthmAs are in one divine body (of emperumAnAr), maNavALa mAmunigaL’s divine mind considers emperumAnAr as incarnation of Adhi SEshan and AvESa avathAram of these five divine ones.

– – – – –

Translation: raghurAm SrInivAsa dasan

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mudhalAyiram thirumAlai

thirumAlai – avathArikai (Introduction) – Part 2

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periyaperumal-art-2

In the previous part of avathArikai, we saw how the jIvAthmA keeps taking births repeatedly through the process of panchAgni vidhyA and how emperumAn helps the jIvAthmA in getting out of this cycle. We saw towards the end that emperumAn shows another way to jIvAthmA to get rid of his sins – by learning his divine names.

What is the pramANam for this? [pramANam is proof taken from SAsthras or similar widely accepted works, accepted by our pUrvAchAryas or preceptors] In SrIvishNu sahasranAmam, yudhishtra asks of bhIshmAchArya, “kim japan muchyathE janthur janma samsAra bhandhanAth?” (by reciting what, does a chEthana (or jIvAthmA) get out of the strong bonds of repeated births and samsAram?) This query is made at the beginning of the chapter of SrIvishNu sahasranAma. The answer is given at the end, in the SlOka “vAsudhEvASrayO marthyA vAsudhEva parAyaNa: sarva pApa viSudhdhAthma yAthi brahma sanAthanam” (by taking refuge under vAsudhEva and by accepting vAsudhEva as the path and the fruit of servitude, a jIvAthmA gets rid of all sins and attains bhagavAn, who is there from time immemorial). The question has been raised in the beginning and the answer is given at the end. In between the two, are the thousand names of vishNu, confirming the benefit of reciting bhagavAn’s divine names. Since thoNdaradippodi AzhwAr is fully immersed in reciting the divine names of bhagavAn, he extols the virtues of bhagavAn’s divine names in this thirumAlai.

vishNu dharmam is the basis for his deep attachment to bhagavAn’s divine names. How did this vishNu dharmam come about? Who spoke about it? Who heard it? For finding answers to these queries we should go to a few generations after pANdavas. There was a king in that dynasty called “SathAnIka”. Since he came in the lineage which was blessed by emperumAn, he was full of sathva (pure good) qualities. While he ensured that the mighty did not trouble the less-abled, he was worried that he had not done anything for his citizenry for their journey after life. He approached “SrI Saunaka bhagavAn” (a famous rishi or sage) and asked him, “my people are looking after their physical needs very well. Could your highness show a way for their welfare after this life?”. SrI Saunaka bhagavAn replied that “this is kali kAlam (the era of kali, the 4th yugam among the chathur yugam (chathur (four) yugams are krutha, thrEthA, dhvApara and kali). In this yugam, the life expectancy is the least among the 4 yugams; thus the time for learning SAsthras comes down. Efforts put in are also lowest. Intelligence levels are also low. The people are surrounded by sins all through. Their only salvation is reciting bhagavAn’s divine names”. Now we know that vishNu dharmam came about a few centuries after start of kali yugam. Sri Saunaka bhagavAn recited it and “SathAnIkan” heard it.

In a similar vein, here the one who recited is thoNdaradippodi AzhwAr. The one who heard it is periya perumAL (SrI rangaNathan at SrIrangam). Just as it was vishNu dharmam there, it is thirumAlai here. There it was agyAna praSnam (the one who heard it was ignorant, i.e. SathAnIkan). Here it is gyAna praSnam (periya perumAL who heard thirumAlai is omniscient, the all-knowing emperumAn). One may ask, why should the omniscient emperumAn listen to something which he knows already? The answer is “kim mrushtam sutha vachnam” (when asked of a mother, “which is the sweetest?” her response would be “my child speaking”). In the same way, bhagavAn listens to his child (AzhwAr) reciting his names with overflowing joy.

Apart from the distinction of periya perumAL himself listening to his pAsurams, there are other distinctions too to this AzhwAr. There are quite a few areas in which his work is superior – a) compared to the vEdhas which highlight bhagavadh vishayam (important aspects of bhagavAn), b) compared to the upabruhmaNam of rishis (works which were composed to explain vEdhas such as ithihAsas and purANas) and c) compared to the works of other AzhwArs. For the first, the example quoted is from thaithriya upanishath, brughuvalli (yathO vA imAni bhUthAni jAyanthE…) where the name of the bhagavAn has not been given at all. Why this example was taken was due to this (from atharva Sikhai) “kAraNanthu dhEya:” – meditate on the one who is the reason. Reason for what? was asked, and the first verse was given. Finally in mahOpanishath, it is said, EkO ha vai nArAyaNa ASIth (only nArAyAna was there during deluge; neither brahmA nor Siva). Thus vEdham showed who is the bhagavAn in a circuitous way. rishis, explaining bhagavAn, said “ajAyamanO bahudhA vijAyathE” (purusha sUktham) – he does not have any birth, has several births. Among the rishis, SrI vAlmmIki bhagavAn was fully engrossed in SrI rAmAvathAram; SrI paraSara bhagavAn was engrossed in krishNavathAram. SrI Saunaka bhagavAn was engrossed in archAvathAram. If one considers the AzhwArs, the first three AzhwArs were attracted to parathvam (paravAsudhEvan – SrIvaikuNtanAthan), the supreme state among the five states of bhagavAn. At the same time, they also glorified his simplicity as thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn in thirumalai. nammAzhwAr and periyAzhwAr were deeply immersed in krishNAvathAram. thirumangai AzhwAr went to many dhivyadhEsams to sing glories of emperumAn in those dhivya dhEsams. But this AzhwAr (thoNdaradippodi AzhwAr) did not know of any emperumAn other than SriranganAthan, among archAvathAra emperumAns. This is what distinguished this AzhwAr from other AzhwArs.

In what way is SrIrangam different from and superior to all the other dhivya dhEsams? Even though river kAvEri flows in many places, it has a special significance at ammAmaNdapa padiththuRai (a ghat near the temple where devotees get down for a holy dip in the river) at SrIrangam from time immemorial. In the same way, compared to the aruLichcheyal (dhivya prabhandham) works of other AzhwArs, this pranbhandham of thoNdardippodi AzhwAr is much different. In what way? In thiruvAimozhi 6.9.1, nammAzhwAr says (of bhagavAn), “nIrAy nilanAy thIyAy kAlAy neduvAnAy, sIrAr sudargaL iraNdAy sivanAy ayanAnAy”, in which he equates achith (insentient) entities such as water, earth, fire, wind and ether as well as chith entities such as Sivan and ayan (brahmA) with emperumAn. That emperumAn is superior to all these achith and chith entities has to be established through SarIrAthma nibhandhana sAmAnAdhikaraNam [his anthyAmithvam (residing inside the achith and chith entities through his all-pervading nature)]. Similarly in thiruvAimozhi 10.10.1, “muniyE nAnmuganE mukkaNNappA”  nammAzhwAr would appear to equate the other two dhEvathAs (demi-gods) – Siva and brahmA with SrIman nArAyaNan, but here again, it has been established that emperumAn is antharyAmi to the other two and is thus superior to them. In such cases, other AzhwArs have not categorically stated in  all their works at all places the superiority of emperumAn and have given room for different interpretations. There is no such shortcoming in the works of this AzhwAr. While vEdham as well as the works of all AzhwArs are like the ocean (in terms of the depth of knowledge that they impart), since the water is very clear one can see the sea-bed  in the work of this AzhwAr [one can get clear meanings in the work of this AzhwAr]. The simile here is to the choice of words used by this AzhwAr and other AzhwArs. thoNdaradippodi AzhwAr has used such apt words in his thirumAlai pAsurams that there is no way in which anyone can interpret it in a different way whereas this is not the case with the other AzhwArs’ pAsurams. The words are simple enough yet they carry lot of meanings in thirumAlai. praNavam (in ashtAkshara mahAmanthram) which has only three letters but meanings of that are heavily laden or mahAbhAratham which has 1,25,000 verses but inner meanings of that are difficult to decipher. thirumAlai does not suffer from such shortcomings. It is not too short like the three letter praNava manthram nor is it too long like mahAbhAratham. It has only 45 pAsurams.  Also, unlike those two, meanings of which are difficult to learn, its meanings are very clear and easily comprehensible. Thus compared to other works (vEdhams, works of other AzhwArs etc), this work of thoNdadippodi AzhwAr is very distinguished.

There is a particular order in the way the pAsurams have been composed by AzhwAr. In the first three pAsurams, he enjoys reciting the names of emperumAn (sva-anubhavam). In the next 11 pAsurams (from 4th to 14th) he shares with others what he had learnt (this is called as parOpadhESam – telling others). But the samsAris were immersed in their own deeds and did not pay heed to him. He then thought of the all the good deeds that bhagavAn had done for him, and composed these in the next 10 pAsurams (15 to 24). This is called as acknowledging upakAra paramparai (the favours done by bhagavAn). From the 25th to the 34th, he confessed that he does not have any good qualities in him and also all the vices in him (this is a must when surrendering to bhagavAn –called as Akinchanyam,  we must admit our dhOshams (vices) and absence of guNams (good qualities)). From 35th to 37th pAsurams, he lamented about his lowly nature (naichyAnusandhAnam). bhagavAn thought that even the only AthmA who would come to him is now trying to leave him. Worried about this, he told AzhwAr about the incidents that happened during his avathArams (incarnations) and told AzhwAr not to leave him. AzhwAr gained confidence after this and surrendered to bhagavAn in the 38th pAsuram, by bringing in the meanings of dhvaya mahAmanthram (the two lines that are recited at the time of surrendering to emperumAn). From 39th to 44th pAsuram, he extols the virtues of those who had surrendered to bhagavAn. In the 45th pAsuram he gives out the benefit for those who sing these pAsurams and completes thirumAlai.

This brings us to the end of avathArikai. Let us proceed to the first pAsuram, “kAvalil pulanai vaiththu….” in the next article.

periya pirAttiyAr periya perumAL thiruvadigaLE SaraNam
thoNdaradippodi AzhwAr thiruvadigaLE SaraNam
periyavAchchAn piLLai thiruvadigaLE Saranam

adiyEn krishNa ramanuja dasan

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Arththi prabandham Other

Arththi Prabandham – 14

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periyaperumAL-udayavar

Introduction

This pAsuram is connected to pAsuram 12. The previous pAsuram (pAsuram 13) was a deviation (prAsangikam).  In pAsuram 12, SrI rAmAnuja asked maNavALa mAmunigaL, “Oh! maNavALa mAmunigaL! You are telling me that you surrendered unto my feet because your AchAryan had told you to do so. You say that your act of surrender to me upon your AchAryan’s direction is the way to liberate you. Will that surrender suffice in your case? Don’t you need to have any other qualification apart from your surrender?” This is what maNavALa mAmunigaL assumed SrI rAmAnuja had in mind. To this question, maNavALa mAmunigaL gives an answer in this pAsuram. maNavALa mAmunigaL says that “Oh! SrI rAmAnuja! If a person has all the desired qualifications, then why would he fall at your feet? You are a person who blesses all those who does not have any qualifications whatsoever. Hence, refugees including me should be protected only by you. If not for you, there is no other place for us”.

pAsuram

adhigAramundEl arangar irangArO
adhigAram illAdhArkkanRO – ethirAsa
nI iranga vEnduvadhu nIyum adhigArigaLukkE
irangil en seyvOm yAm

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Word-by-Word Meanings

adhigAramundEl – if one is completely qualified across the dimensions of knowledge and its subsequent practice
arangar –  periya perumAL (SrI ranganAthan)
irangArO – will he not come down and help him?
ethirAsa – But hey ethirAsa, you
adhigAram illAdhArkkanRO – will step down to help out those people who does not have an iota of any of the aforementioned qualification. Is it not true?
nI iranga vEnduvadhu – We request you to come down and help such people (including me)
nIyum adhigArigaLukkE irangil –  Even you, who is the sole refuge for all the refugees, start to help out only those people who have qualifications
en seyvOm yAm – what do we do then?

Simple Translation:

In this pAsuram, maNavALa mAmunigaL tells SrI rAmAnuja that he does not have any other place to go except his (SrI rAmAnuja’s) lotus feet. SrI rAmAnuja is the only person who can save any person who does not have any refuge. SrI rAmAnuja does not look out for any qualification in a person in order to surrender unto him. It is periya perumAL who looks out for qualification such as gyAnam (knowledge) and its associated practice (anushtAnam). maNavALa mAmunigaL concludes by saying that if even SrI rAmAnuja starts to look out for qualifications, then there is absolutely no place for him and others to go.

Explanation:

maNavALa mAmunigaL tells SrI rAmAnuja “Oh SrI rAmAnuja! Look at periya perumAL! He blesses people like nammAzhvAr as per her request “puNNAnthuzhAme porunIrth thiruvarangA aruLAy (thiruviruththam 28). nammAzhvAr after being liberated by the blessings of periya perumAL says “aruL sUdi uyndhavan (thiruvAimozhi 7.2.11). periya perumAL blesses only those people who have qualifications.  But look at people like us. We do not have any such qualification. Oh the leader of all yathis (sanyAsIs)!!! You have to help people like us who have no such thing called qualification. You are the sole refuge for all those innumerable souls that have no place to go. But even if you start to look out for qualifications and help only those who have them, what qualification can people like us show in order to be recipient of your mercy? We would never be liberated forever.

adiyEn santhAna rAmAnuja dAsan

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