SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
Full series >> Third Centum >> Seventh decad
Introduction for this pAsuram
Highlights from thirukkurukaippirAn piLLAn‘s introduction
No specific introduction.
Highlights from nanjIyar‘s introduction
In third pAsuram – AzhwAr says “SrIvaishNavas who are attached to the beauty of emperumAn who is decorated with thuLasi, are my lords”.
Highlights from vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s introduction
Subsequently, AzhwAr says “Those who are surrendered to bhAgavathas who are attached to emperumAn‘s enjoyable nature which is enjoyed by both spiritual and material realms, they are the lords who enslave me”.
Highlights from periyavAchchAn piLLai‘s introduction
See nampiLLai‘s introduction.
Highlights from nampiLLai‘s introduction as documented by vadakkuth thiruvIdhip piLLai
Third pAsuram. AzhwAr says “Those who are surrendered to those who are won over by the beauty of emperumAn‘s shoulders and the matching garland on the shoulders, are my lords”.
pAsuram
nAdhanai gyAlamum vAnamum Eththum naRundhuzhAyp
pOdhanaip ponnedum chakkaraththendhai pirAn thannaip
pAdham paNiya vallAraip paNiyum avar kaNdIr
Odhum piRappidai thORu emmai ALudaiyArgaLE
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Word-by-Word meanings (based on vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s 12000 padi)
nAdhanai – being the unconditional master
gyAlamum – (the ignorant) samsAris [worldly people who are residents of the material realm]
vAnamum – (the wise) nithyasUris [eternally free souls who are residents of the spiritual realm], without any distinction
Eththum – as glorified by
naRum thuzhAyp pOdhanai – being decorated with very fragrant thiruththuzhAy (thuLasi) garland
pon – good-looking
nedum – overwhelming (with sweetness)
chakkaraththu – with the beauty of his divine hands and sudharSana chakra (disc)
endhai pirAn thannai – one who is my infinite lord
pAdham – in the lotus feet
paNiya vallArai – those who bow
paNiyum avar kaNdIr – those who bow and serve them
Odhum – spoken (in SAsthram)
piRappu idai thORu – in various births
emmai – us
ALudaiyArgaL – who have as servitors
Simple translation (based on vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s 12000 padi)
emperumAn being the unconditional master, who is glorified without any distinction by both samsAris and nithyasUris, who is decorated with very fragrant thiruththuzhAy (thuLasi) garland, is my infinite lord due to the beauty of his good-looking overwhelming (with sweetness) combination of his divine hands and sudharSana chakra (disc); those who bow and serve those who bow at his lotus feet, are the ones who have us as servitors in various births, which are spoken in SAsthram.
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
- nAdhanai – one who is my unconditional lord.
- gyAlam … – On seeing the combination of his shoulders and the garlands on the shoulders, like how people cry out and worship when the screen is opened [we can relate to this by imagining how the whole crowd in front of the sannidhi cry out “gOvindhA! gOvindhA!” these days when emperumAn becomes visible after the screen in front of him is removed], without any distinction, both nithyasUris and nithya samsAris glorify emperumAn. SrI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam 130.32 “sthrIbAlayuvavrudhdhAnAm” – those women who think that they will lose their chastity if they spoke a word in glorification of men, children who cannot speak, youth who won’t reveal their mind, elderly people who cannot speak cohesively – SrI rAma’s beauty was such that, it is glorified loudly by all of these.
- naRum thuzhAyp pOdhanai – One who is decorated by fresh thuLasi flower which acquired divine fragrance due to coming into contact with his divine body.
- pon … – one who is having the divine sudharSana chakra which is attractive like gold, being incomparable for his beauty, decorated ornament and gait, with abundance of joy. He is the one who performed the favour of enslaving me by manifesting such beautiful chakra. Like those princes (who are focussed on enjoyment) will take ghee for every handful of rice, AzhwAr repeatedly enjoys the combination of emperumAn‘s divine hand and the thiruvAzhi (sudharSana chakra). “Azhip pirAn” in previous pAsuram is explained as “pon nedum chakkaraththu endhai pirAn“.
- pAdham … – Those who can become captivated in the beauty and fall at his divine feet instead of feeling jealous about it. [Who would manifest jealousy on the supreme lord?] They are manifesting jealousy without understanding his greatness. sarvESvaran himself mercifully said in SrI bhagavath gIthA 9.1 “idham thu thE guhyathamam pravakshyAmi anasUyavE” (I am talking to you this most secret knowledge, since you are not jealous of me) and SrI bhagavath gIthA 18.67 “… na cha mAm yObhyasUyathi” (this charama SlOkam is not to be revealed to the one who hates me). [Is it difficult to worship emperumAn without jealousy?] Since our pUrvAchAryas have demonstrated it, it is easy for us to follow; only when we look at others [who don’t do it], we can understand the difficult in doing it.
- vallAraip paNiyum avar kaNdIr – [those who are able to worship such devotees.] If one can be envious towards ISwaran himself, what to speak of envy towards his devotees? In case of bhagavAn one may look at his supremacy and worship him or one may consider oneself to be independent and refuse to do so as said in SrI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam 36.11 “… na namEyam …” (rAvaNa – I will never worship SrI rAma, even if I am cut into two pieces); but devotees who sustain themselves by food and water are more difficult to be surrendered [since they will be considered as good as oneself]. Ignoring their physical constraints and looking at the devotees purely by their dependence on emperumAn and accepting them as their master, one should have very good maturity. [But, is being simple, a cause for jealousy?] Yes. For SisupAla et al, emperumAn’s saulabhyam itself became the cause for their envy and led to their destruction [since they abused him considering him to be a normal human and thus paid the price for that]. [nampiLLai narrates an incident from his own life to demonstrate how difficult it is for one to accept another devotee as superior] There was a good SrIvaishNava named piLLai AththAn. He approached the divine feet of jIyar (nanjIyar) and requested him to teach thiruvAimozhi once fully. nanjIyar said to him “You learn it from piLLai (nampiLLai) who will explain it to you in great detail”. piLLai AththAn asked nanjIyar “But do I have to offer my obeisances to him” [He was ready to offer obeisances to nanjIyar who was a sanyAsi (renouncer) and senior, but was hesitant to offer obeisances to nampiLLai who was a gruhastha (householder) and younger too]. Hearing that, nanjIyar said “That is not compulsory. You can do it if you desire to do so”. nanjIyar then called me and instructed me to explain thiruvAimozhi to him even if he wants to sit on a higher platform and learn. I started doing that and when I explained this decad, he started respecting me greatly [after understanding the glories of SrIvaishNavas], and I withdrew myself from teaching him. He then went to nanjIyar and told him “Since I did not know the importance of this principle [of being devoted to devotees], I previously told like that. You please mercifully instruct him to accept my respects” and forcefully served me by the orders of nanjIyar [which I could not refuse].
- Odhum … – If we get this servitude towards devotees, I will not mind even births where I am mentioned just as “piRandhAn, seththAn” (he was born, he died). Alternatively, I will accept any birth which is explained in SAsthram as inferior.
- emmai ALudaiyArgaLE – As said in thiruvAimozhi 2.3.10 “adiyArgaL kuzhAngaL” and thiruvAimozhi 10.9.11 “andham il pErinbaththu adiyarOdirundhamai” (being together with the devotees in paramapadham which has endless joy) – one serves in the special place of paramapadham to devotees only; let them accept that service [from me] here itself.
- emmai – His lordship is common towards all as mentioned in jithanthA 1.2 “dhEvAnAm dhAnvAnAm cha sAmAnyamadhidhaivatham” (Oh the one who is the common lord for dhEvas and asuras!); but bhAgavthas are lords for those who acquired special knowledge as said in thiruvAimozhi 1.1.1 “mayarvaRa madhi nalam” (faultless knowledge and devotion) like myself (AzhwAr). When we look at bhagavAn‘s glories, it will overshadow the worldly aspects [of bhAgavathas]; As said in mahAbhAratham SAnthi parvam “dhurAchArOpi …” (even if he has bad conduct etc., if one is fully faithful to SrIman nArAyaNan who is the cause of everything, he is to be known as faultless), even if a devotee is seen to have certain faults, if he is surrendered to emperumAn, he should be considered as faultless. Why should he be considered faultless when there are faults? As said in the same “dhurAchArOpi” SlOkam, “prabhAvAth paramAthmana:” (by the greatness of paramAthmA), after being a devotee, if we consider inferior [due to the faults], it is equal to considering bhagavAn to be incapable of purifying him. Two dear Sishyas of nanjIyar named vIrap piLLai and pAligaivALip piLLai who were always together, went to a different town, became angry at each other due to a fight and did not talk to each other. Seeing that nanjIyar said to them “Dear sons! only if material wealth and lust are not to be given up, only if bhagavath vishayan is not sufficient / conclusive, a SrIvaishNava can be angry at another SrIvaishNava and avoid talking to him”. Hearing that, they both offered obeisances to nanjIyar and became friendly again.
In the next article we will enjoy the next pAsuram.
adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan
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