SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
Introduction:
In the previous pAsuram, maNavALa mAmunigaL asked SrI rAmAnuja whether knowledgeable people would tolerate their sons going astray. SrI rAmAnuja who is described as, the one who is pursued by good persons as per the phrase “nallAr paravum irAmAnusan” (irAmAnusa nURRandhAdhi 44), listened to maNavALa mAmunigaL’s lamentations. He looked at the pitiable state of maNavALa mAmunigaL, listened to the latter’s outpourings of his frustrations and thought. Without able to tolerate further, SrI rAmAnuja thought that he should go to paramapadham where the knowledgeable people go, be one with the nithyasUris there, thereby making him one with them. SrI rAmAnuja did not want to stop there and wanted maNavALa mAmunigaL to get the eternal gift of doing service to them forever. Realizing this desire of SrI rAmAnuja, maNavALa mAmunigaL thought that he had indeed got to paramapadham and became ecstatic because of his father SrI rAmAnuja’s desire towards him. maNavALa mAmunigaL, now was very confident of his destination as they say “pERu thappAdhu enRu thuNindhu irukaiyum (mummukshupadi, dhvaya prakaraNam #1) and starts to describe the journey of a soul that transcends this universe and goes to paramapadham.
pAsuram
pOm vazhiyaith tharum ennum inbam ellAm
pusiththu vazhipOy amudha virasaiyARRil
nAm mUzhgi malamaRRuth theLivisumbai
naNNi nalam thigazhmEni thannaip peRRu
thAm amarar vandhu edhir koNdu alankarithu
saRkarippa mAmaNi maNdapaththuch chenRu
mAmalarAL kOn madiyil vaiththu ugakkum
vAzhvu namakku ethirAsan aruLum vAzvhE !!!
Listen
Word-by-Word Meanings:
vAzhvu – The fortune
aruLum vAzvhE – blessed by
ethirAsan – emperumAnAr
namakku – for us (is as follows)
pOm vazhiyai – (when the soul departs the body), it proceeds in a path called as “archirAdhi mArgam” that serves as the way to the uninterrupted ethereal bliss in paramapadham
tharum – The soul get this path
ennum – and consequently
pusiththu – enjoys
inbam ellAm – all the happiness
vazhipOy – as it traverses the “archirAdhi mArgam” path.
nAm mUzhgi – (Later), the soul gets a holy dip
amudha virasaiyARRil – in the river known as “virajA”
malamaRRuth – and get rids of all the impurities caused due to nature.
naNNi – (After this) it reaches
theLivisumbai – the impeccable and faultless paramapadham
nalam thigazhmEni thannaip peRRu – to get a body that is devoid any earthly natural attributes, one that is very pure and more importantly one that exhibits and radiates the true nature of the soul.
thAm amarar – the nithyasUris
vandhu – come,
edhir koNdu – greet,
alankariththu – decorate
saRkarippa – and honor the soul which is now in a new unearthly body that
mAmaNi maNtapathu chenRu – goes to the mandapam called “thirumAmaNi mandapam” and sees
mAmalarAL kOn – Sriman nArAyaNan who is also known as “sriyapathi”, “vaikuntanAthan” and one who is the consort of periya pirAtti.
madiyil vaiththu ugakkum – Sriman nArAyaNan will keep us in the lap, go ecstatic by happily feeling and smelling us (this fortune is only because of Sri rAmAnuja’s grace and nothing else).
Simple Translation:
In this pAsuram, maNavALa mAmunigaL celebrates the grace of emperumAnAr who is the only one capable of liberating a soul from the bondage and ensuring that it is where it should be , i.e., paramapadham. maNavALa mAmunigaL describes joyfully, the wonderful journey the soul undergoes when it starts from this earth and reaches the ulterior destination in paramapadham. He describes how nithyasUris greet and honor this departed soul, which is welcomed by Sriman nArAyaNan who instantly become ecstatic.
Explanation:
As per nammAzhvAr’s words “pOm vazhiyaith tharum nangaL (thiruvAimozhi 3.9.3), the liberated soul departs from a body and traverses through the path known as “archirAdhi mArgam” that eventually leads to paramapadham. It enjoys all the luxuries along the way in its journey to paramapadham. Since the destination is ulterior and the most fascinating, the path that leads there has to be commensurate to that. Hence the soul that journeys in this path is being celebrated at the highest pedestal. The soul is being led by the lord as HE led “kaLvan kol pirAtti” (it is the name parakAla nAyaki (feminine mood of thirumangai AzhwAr), specifically in periya thirumozhi 3.7). The soul gets a holy dip in the famous river called “virajA” as described by the phrase “virajAmAm amruthakArAm mAm prApyamahAnadhIm”. The soul gets a dip in this river, thereby cleansing its impurities and ill fates accrued over eons. After this, it gets a divine body that is devoid of any earthly natural qualities. This body is a one that radiates with the true nature of a soul that is nothing but being subservient to its eternal master Sriman nArAyaNan. This person is now celebrated by nithyasUrIs as they meet, greet, honor and decorate him. They take him to a mandapam called “thirumAmaNi mandapam”. There, he meets Sriya:pathi, who is known as SrivaikuNtanAthan. HE accepts the liberated person, hugs him and happily lifts him and smells his head (like a father would smell the child’s head) and goes ecstatic. This rare fortune to people like us who has interest in going to paramapadham, is an example of SrI rAmAnuja’s extreme compassion towards us because of which he grants us with this highest wealth.
adiyEn santhAna rAmAnuja dAsan
archived in http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org
pramEyam (goal) – http://koyil.org
pramANam (scriptures) – http://granthams.koyil.org/
pramAthA (preceptors) – http://acharyas.koyil.org
SrIvaishNava education/kids portal – http://pillai.koyil.org
We are blessed Swamin