Daily Archives: September 23, 2016

thiruvAimozhi thiruvAimozhi 3rd centum

thiruvAimozhi – 3.6.11 – kaNgaL kANdaRku

September 23, 2016 Published by: Sarathy Thothathri

SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:

Full series >> Third Centum >> Sixth decad

Previous pAsuram

Introduction for this pAsuram

Highlights from thirukkurukaippirAn piLLAn‘s introduction

No specific introduction.

Highlights from nanjIyar‘s introduction

In eleventh pAsuram – AzhwAr says “On practicing this decad, one will surely become a faultless devotee; knowing this, practice this decad”.

Highlights from vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s introduction

Subsequently, AzhwAr mercifully explains gain of devotion towards bhagavAn 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

kaNgaL kANdaRkariyanAyk karuththukku nanRum eLiyanAy
maN koL gyAlaththuyirkkellAm aruL seyyum vAnavar Isanaip
paN koL sOlai vazhudhi nAdan kurugaik kOn SatakOpan sol
paN koL Ayiraththip paththAl paththarAgak kUdum payiluminE

Listen

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

kaNgaL – eyes
kANdaRku – to perceive
ariyanAy – being difficult
karuththukku – for the heart
nanRum eLiyanAy – being the target of elaborate experience
maN koL gyAlaththu – in the world which is dominated by land
uyirkku – for creatures
ellAm – all
aruL seyyum – doing favours (through archAvathAram)
vAnavar Isanai – the lord who gives out the same experience that is given to nithyasUris
paN koL – (due to the buzz of the bees) having abundant noise
sOlai – having garden
vazhudhi nAdan – being the leader of thiruvazhudhi nAdu (AzhwArthirunagari region)
kurugaik kOn – the lord of AzhwArthirunagari town
SatakOpan – nammAzhwAr
sol – mercifully spoke
paN koL – with meter
Ayiraththu – among the thousand pAsurams
ip paththAl – this decad (which highlights the simplicity of archAvathAra emperumAn)
paththar – having bhakthi [as said in SrI bhagavath gIthA 7.19 “sa mahAthmA sudhurlabha:” (such greatly devoted souls are very rare to find), very difficult to see]
Agak kUdum – would become;
payilumin – practice [this decad].

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

emperumAn is difficult for the eyes to perceive and is the target of elaborate experience for the heart; he is the lord who gives out the same experience that is given to nithyasUris, doing favours (through archAvathAram) for all creatures in this world which is dominated by land; nammAzhwAr who is the leader of thiruvazhudhi nAdu (AzhwArthirunagari region) which is having garden with abundant noise (due to the buzz of the bees) and the lord of AzhwArthirunagari town, mercifully spoke with meter on such emperumAn in this decad (which highlights the simplicity of archAvathAra emperumAn) among the thousand pAsurams; by [practicing] this decad, one would have bhakthi (great devotion); [hence, you] practice [this decad].

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

kaNgaL kANdaRkariyanAyk karuththukku nanRum eLiyanAy – AzhwAr is saying with the distaste of not having seen emperumAn. Being difficult to be seen by eyes, yet always in the forefront of the heart and hence unable to save oneself by accepting the fact “yes, he cannot be seen” [At least if we can forget, there will be less grief. Neither he can be seen, nor he can be forgotten]. For AzhwAr, viSlEsham (separation) is – agony due to the disturbance in internal togetherness as a result of not being able to see him externally (physically). samslESham (union) is – internal visualization which is as good as seeing him physically.
maN koL … – As he was enjoyed by nithyasUris, the easily approachable emperumAn due to his presenting himself in archAvathAram to favour samsAris (worldly people) without discriminating them.
paN koL sOlai – Very noisy/musical garden due to the buzzing of the bees. The sOlai resembles mukkOttai [mukkOttai is a temple of dhEvathAntharams such as dhurgA, vinAyaka – which will induce even a layman to sing great poems. Here, the garden of AzhwArthirunagari is such that, it will even make bees to sing beautiful tunes. Also explained as – the garden is inducing AzhwAr to sing beautiful tunes].
vazhudhi nAdan – Mercifully spoken by nammAzhwAr who is the leader of thiruvazhudhi nAdu (bigger region) and AzhwArthirunagari (smaller town inside the bigger region).
paN koL Ayiram – Just like the buzzing of bees became beautiful tunes without their knowledge, the overflowing devotion in the speech of nammAzhwAr became set in meter naturally.
paththarAgak kUdum payiluminE – chEthanas (sentient beings) may achieve many different things, but it is very difficult for them to attain devotion towards bhagavAn; even that will be attained by practicing this decad. Even for those who don’t have sukrutham (virtues), SAsthra gyAnam (knowledge in SAsthram), sadhAchArya upadhESam (instructions from a genuine teacher) and unconditional mercy of bhagavAn, when they meditate upon the simplicity of archAvathAra emperumAn, they will acquire devotion towards bhagavAn; one will start thinking “Should we [at least] not be friendly towards sarvESvaran who has no unfulfilled desires out of motherly affection towards his devotees, assumes a form that is desired by his devotee, accepts what he is fed as food, enters different homes and never abandons his devotees?”. As soon as one hears “there is treasure buried here [in one’s house]”, he/she will feel very blissful and pursue it; similarly when AzhwAr mercifully says “paththar Agak kUdum” (one will become devotee [instead of ordering “You practice this decad to become a devotee”]), they will start practicing the decad.

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

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

Arththi prabandham Other

Arththi Prabandham – 25

September 23, 2016 Published by: santhanam rajagopalan

SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:

Full Series

<< Previous

Introduction

In this pAsuram, maNavALa mAmunigaL raises an imaginary question. He believes that Sri rAmAnuja might have had this as a question on his mind and subsequently maNavALa mAmunigaL tries to answer him in this pAsuram. The question / assumption is as follows. SrI rAmAnuja asked maNavALa mAmunigaL, “hey maNavALa mAmunigaL!!! You have not taken account of the sins that you have accrued. Yet you yearned for [the opportunity to serve]. What should I do now in this regard? Please tell me”. maNavALa mAmunigaL replies, “hey! SrI rAmAnuja! The time between the day when you took me to your fold and today, you have patiently watched my sins. You have also ensured me of paramapadham, for which I did not have any eligibility. Now, you should not delay it further and should grant me mOksham immediately”.

pAsuram 25

enRu nirEthukamAga ennai abhimAniththu
yAnum adhaRindhu unakkEyAyirukkum vagai seydhAi
anRu mudhal inRaLavum anavaratham pizhaiyE
aduththaduththuch cheyvadhu anuthavippadhu inichcheyyEn
enRu unnai vandhu irappadhAm en kodumai kaNdum
igazhAdhE iravupagal adimai koNdu pOndhAy
inRu thirunAdum enakku aruLa eNNuginRAy
inik kadugach cheidharuLavENdum ethirAsA!!!

Listen

Word-by-Word Meanings

ethirAsA – Oh! ethirAsA! my master! The leader of yathis!!!
enRu – From the day
nirEthukamAga – (when you) without any reason
ennai – developed a thought towards me
abhimAniththu – that “I (maNavALa mAmunigaL) am yours”
yAnum – I, too
adhaRindhu – knew about it
unakkE – (and served) you and you only
Ayirukkum – (and made myself) a thing that is reserved for you only and to no one else
seydhAy – You did this. Did’nt you?
vagai – (for me to have this regard for you) this way.
anRu mudhal – From that day
inRaLavum – till now
anavaratham – (I am) always
aduththaduththu – incessantly
cheivadhu – committing
pizhaiyE – only sins
anuthavippadhu – and am instantly repenting for those sins that
ini – hereafter
cheyyEn enRu – I should not commit (those sins)
unnai vandhu irappadhAm – and I come to you and plead you for support.
en kodumai kaNdum – You, even after you seeing my attorcious sins
igazhAdhE – have never dismissed / hated me for that
adimai koNdu pOndhAy – (Instead) you accepted my kainkaryam at your lotus feet
iravupagal – day and night.
inRu – (not stopping with that) today
eNNuginRAy – you are thinking of
aruLa – blessing
enakku – me
thirunAdum – with paramapadham
inik kaduga – so, quickly
cheidhu aruLavENdum – bless me with that.

Simple Translation

In this pAsuram, maNavALa mAmunigaL asks SrI rAmAnuja to quickly grant him the ticket to paramapadham. He says that right from the day when SrI rAmAnuja took him to his lotus feet with the thought that “maNavALa mAmunigaLis mine” till today, he is incessantly committing innumerable sins. Just moments after committing those sins, maNavALa mAmunigaL says that he would repent very much for doing it but that would never stop him from doing it again. This has been the case for a long time and all these days, Sri rAmAnuja did not look at the sinful side of maNavALa mAmunigaL, nor did he hate him for doing that. maNavALa mAmunigaL says that instead he made sure that he got uninterrupted service at his lotus feet day in and day out. Today, SrI rAmAnuja was even contemplating on blessing maNavALa mAmunigaL with the paramapdham. maNavALa mAmunigaL asks SrI rAmAnuja, if that is the case, what is the reason for the delay and requests him to bless immediately.

Explanation

maNavALa mAmunigaL says, “Oh! The leader of yathIs (sanyAsis)!!! You have blessed this soul with your thought that “this soul is mine”. You have done so without any reason for it. I knew about it and thanks to your blessings, I became an entity reserved exclusively for you and for no one else. From that very day till today when I seek your lotus feet, I have continued to incessantly commit nothing but sins. I repent immediately and plead to you for support. You did not dismiss me or hate me for doing sins. On the contrary, you have gifted me with uninterrupted service to you , at your lotus feet, day in and day out. Not stopping with that, today you were even thinking of granting me paramapdham, the place reserved for highly deserving people. You were thinking to offer me a ticket to paramapdham, a place to which I am completely ineligible to go to. Having had this very thought, SrI rAmAnuja, what is the reason for your delay? I request you to bless me immediately”.

Translation by santhAna rAmAnuja dhAsan

archived in http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org

mudhalAyiram thirumAlai

thirumAlai – 17 – virumbi ninREththa

September 23, 2016 Published by: T N Krishnan

SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:

Full series

<< Previous

avathArikai (Introduction)

In the previous pAsurm, AzhwAr said that there was a flood of affection in his heart. In this pAsuram he says “unlike samsAris who, despite having affection in their hearts, will not display it, emperumAn made even insentient entities such as my eyes to rejoice exceedingly upon seeing him, like sentient entities”.

Let us look at the pAsuram

விரும்பி நின்றேத்த மாட்டேன் விதியிலேன் மதியொன்றில்லை
இரும்பு போல் வலிய நெஞ்சம் இறை இறை உருகும் வண்ணம்
சுரும்பு அமர் சோலை சூழ்ந்த அரங்கமா கோயில் கொண்ட
கரும்பினைக் கண்டுகொண்டு என் கண்ணினை களிக்குமாறே!

virumbi ninREththa mAttEn vidhiyilEn madhiyonRillai
irumbu pOl valiya nenjam iRai iRai urugum vaNNam
surumbu amar sOlai sUzhndha arangamA kOyil koNda
karumbinaik kaNdukoNdu en kaNNiNai kaLikkumARE!

Listen

Meanings of words

virumbi ninRu – standing with lot of affection
Eththa mAttEn – I will not praise [emperumAn]
vidhiyilEn – did not carry out any kainkaryam physically (such as folding the palms together or praising through the mouth)
madhi onRu illai – the knowledge (that there is an emperumAn) is not there (for me)

(for such a person)
irumbu pOl valiya nenjam – a mind [heart] as hardened as iron
iRai iRai urugum vaNNam – softening gradually
surumbu amar – occupied by bees
sOlai sUzhndha – surrounded by gardens
mA arangam – great thiruvarangam [SrIrangam]
kOyil koNda – taken as a dwelling place
karumbinai – periya perumAL who is an object of enjoyment, like sugarcane
en kaN iNai – my two eyes
kaNdu koNdu – seeing and enjoying
kaLikkum ARE – how they enjoy!

vyAkhyAnam (Explanatory Notes)

virumbi ninRu Eththa mAtten – in the first line, AzhwAr gives the previous states of the three parts – his mind, speech and body. If a great object is seen, should it not be praised with the mouth, with total desire and force? SrIvishNu purANam 5.7.70 says “sO’ham thE dhEva dhEvESa nArchanAdhou sthuthau na cha I sAmarthyavAn krupAmAthra manOvruththi praSIdha mE II” – Oh, the Lord of nithyasUris and celestial persons! A person such as I, am not capable of praising or adoring you. Please show mercy on me with your benevolent mind.

In the same way AzhwAr’s tongue was without any strength when it came to speaking on matters related to emperumAn. But it had all the enthusiasm and strength to speak about matters other than emepeumAn. emperumAn asks AzhwAr “the tongue may have been going around on matters other than myself. But, has the body done anything for me?” AzhwAr says …

vidhiyilEn – as per amarakOSam 2534; 3.3.100 “vidhir vidhAnE” – the word vidhi is associated with bodily function. Since time immemorial, I have not done anything with my hands which is beneficial towards you. vishNu dharmam 1.13 says “sA jihvA yA harim sthauthi thachchiththam yaththadharpitham I thAvEva cha karau SlAghyau yau thathpUjAkarau karau II” – that which praises hari (emperumAn) is tongue; that which is proffered to him is heart; only those which carry out pUjA (worship or veneration) to him are great. Thus, even if hands and tongue were involved with worldly matters, did you at least think of me with your heart, asks emperumAn….

madhi onRu illai – it is not even that it (heart) did not know of your greatness. It did not even know of your existence, responds the AzhwAr. While I knew the nature and purpose of everything other than you, in matter related to you, I did not even have the knowledge that “you are there” As per this statement, even though AzhwAr had useless knowledge about all the other things, he considers such a knowledge as “not knowledge” at all,

emperumAn says that even though he had allowed AzhwAr’s mind, speech and bodily functions to engage with worldly matters, he would rectify AzhwAr’s mind and take it under his wings…

irumbu pOl valiya nenjam – AzhwAr says that his mind is unfit to be rectified. One can bring even iron under one’s control by melting it, but his mind is hard and cannot be rectified at all. Up to this, AzhwAr states the status that he was in, earlier. He now states the greatness of emperumAn who changed that state.

iRai iRai urugum vaNNam – Though hard like iron, instead of destroying his mind, emperumAn softened it gradually. Just as rainfall softens a hardened land, emperumAn was able to soften his mind which had been grazing on worldly matters, through his beauty.

AzhwAr next describes the entity that changed his mind….

surumbu amar sOlai sUzhndha aranga mA kOyil koNda karumbinai – surumbu amar sOlai – garden occupied by bees. Just as sweet smell emanates from a garden and stays with it, the bees were also born in these gardens and stayed put there. Wouldn’t the bees go out? Why should they, when the gardens are always fresh and the honey is always available. Since honey does not dry up, bees do not have a reason for going out. It is as if it is always spring season. sOlai sUzhndha arangamA kOyil koNda – the sweetness of the temple is so great that the sweetness of the gardens described above appears lowly in comparison. To affirm this, AzhwAr uses the adjective “mA” – great. Another meaning given is that emperumAn considered this temple as paramapadham (SrIvaikuNtam).

karumbinai – sugarcane. Instead of saying sugarcane juice which would feel sticky on the hands, he says sugarcane itself, which is enjoyable. Unlike sugar which is obtained by boiling the juice and made in an unnatural way, this [sugarcane] is natural and sweet. thaiththirIya upanishath says “rasO vai sa: rasa hyEvAyam labhdhvA nandhI bhavathi” – rasa (greatly joyous) personality is emperumAn. After attaining him, (the jIvAthmA) becomes joyous. Thus upanishath also claims that emerpumAn is naturally sweet.

kaNdukoNdu – emperumAn is like sugarcane drunk by the eyes. SrI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam 19.7 says “lOchanAbhyam pibanniva “ – SrI rAma looked at SrI vibhIshanAzhwAn and drank him with his eyes. In the same way, AzhwAr drinks in emperumAn.

En kaNNiNai kaLikkumARE – my eyes, which were all along engaged with worldly pursuits, ultimately leading to narakam (hell), are now enjoying this great emperumAn. iNai – two. One eye is comparable to the other eye. There is no other comparison. mukthars (those who have got liberated from samsAram and have subsequently reached SrIvaikuNtam) also enjoy him. But the joy of AzhwAr is much higher than that of mukthars. There is no comparison at all. kaNNiNai kaLikkumARE – the eyes are not waiting for the owner, but are enjoying on their own. Instead of being conduits for sensory perceptions, these eyes are themselves enjoying like a chEthanan (sentient entity). dhaSaratha chakravarthy tells kausalyA (SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 42.24) “rAmam mE’nugathA dhrushtiradhyApi na nivarthathE I na thvA paSyAmi kausalyE! sAdhu mA pANinA spruSa II” – my eyes went behind rAma and have not returned till now. Oh kausalyE! Touch me with your hands (so that I can see if at least the sensory perception of touch is active). Thus due to emperumAn’s sweetness, the sensory organs get elated when they see him and get sad when they are separated from him.

We shall go on to the 18^th pAsuram, next.

adiyEn krishNa ramanuja dasan

archived in http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org